


To the End (La Comédie)

by ken_ichijouji (dommific)



Series: Water park 'verse [12]
Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: F/M, M/M, jim and bones get married - waterpark verse, waterpark verse - part 11
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-27
Updated: 2011-01-02
Packaged: 2017-10-17 06:01:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 64,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/173676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dommific/pseuds/ken_ichijouji
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You are cordially invited to the Starfleet social function of the year. That is, assuming these terrorists and the <i>Enterprise</i> Crew's own issues don't get in the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is it. The final multi-part story in [the water park 'verse](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/21874.html). It is bigger, longer, and crazier than any of the others. There are weddings and terrorists and candy and sex and illness and memos and Pike and spies and, most of all, adventure.

_**Fic: To the End (La Comédie) 1/7**_  
Title: To the End (La Comédie)  
Series: Star Trek XI (as if I write for anything else these days)  
Rating: PG-13/R for some violence, swearing, and fade-to-black sexy stuff  
Summary: You are cordially invited to the Starfleet social function of the year. That is, assuming these terrorists and the _Enterprise_ Crew's own issues don't get in the way.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to do with the characters featured in Star Trek or the Stark Trek movie from 2009. No harm was meant, so put the lawyers away, man.  
Notes: So this is it. The final multi-part story in [the water park 'verse](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/21874.html). It is bigger, longer, and crazier than any of the others. There are weddings and terrorists and candy and sex and illness and memos and Pike and spies and, most of all, adventure.

The title is from the [Blur featuring Françoise Hardy song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJmVTJYFbHE&feature=player_embedded). “We've been drinking far too much, and neither of us quite mean what we say.” I think that sums up some permutation of every conceivable pairing in this fandom. Search your feelings, you know this to be true.

This story begins on Kirk and Bones one-year mark, which is three months give or take since “Jackie Wilson Said.” The usual pairing suspects are all present, with the one new addition.

The formatting for Kirk's memo comes from [this website](http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4357736/navy-memo-writing). My friend who is actually in the Navy ([](http://faoi-cheilt.livejournal.com/profile)[ **faoi_cheilt**](http://faoi-cheilt.livejournal.com/) ;_;) assures me that it's accurate. Thanks go as always to her, [](http://inugrlrayn.livejournal.com/profile)[**inugrlrayn**](http://inugrlrayn.livejournal.com/) , and [](http://cryogenia.livejournal.com/profile)[**cryogenia**](http://cryogenia.livejournal.com/) for their support, betaing, general hand-holding, and necessary criticism.

Chapel being six courses short of her M.D. comes from the TOS movies where she is not only Dr. Christine Chapel, but a CMO in her own right. It's hard to finish school when you get recruited into being a spy, don't'cha know?

The song that Jim uses is [“Ball and Biscuit” by The White Stripes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPeuFt749l8). This is one of the hottest songs ever, so there.

Yes, I am using Lieutenant Marla McGivers. According to Memory Alpha, she is a control systems specialist in addition to being ship's historian. (Which explains why the red and not blue, because that always frankly bugged me. Librarians get blue, why not historians?) And no, there is no Khan Noonien Singh in this fic. Because I don't like him. (I'm probably going to get booed for that. But seriously, all the villains they had and he gets the sequel movie? He was _boring_.) Anyways for the purposes of this story, imagine her as being played by [Emma Stone.](http://www.exposay.com/emma-stone-superbad-movie-premiere---arrivals/p/13052/2/?f=Emma%20Stone)

Yes, Dr. Sylvester's first name is Sue. Could you imagine having her be your doctor? I mean, people think McCoy's bad. “YOU THINK THAT’S HARD? TRY LIVING WITH HEPATITIS, THAT’S HARD.” “...Hepatitis is what I came in here for. :C” “Shut up! ::hyposprays::”

The part of Julien de Maupassant will be played by [Vincent Cassel](http://noesland.blogspot.com/2009/02/vincent-cassel-we-want.html). The man had me at _Le Pacte des Lupes/Brotherhood of the Wolf_ , dude. Hot. Even hotter? He and Chris Pine arguing passionately with each other while separated only by the thin forcefieldy-wall of the brig cells. Yes, you can all thank me for that mental image. I am awesome. Related: go see _Black Swan_. Because it is a beautifully shot, wonderfully acted film, and Vincent Cassel is wonderful in it.

I may have also given Jim Chris Pine's hatred of the paparazzi. Oops?

This fanfic is dedicated to [](http://loreamara.livejournal.com/profile)[**loreamara**](http://loreamara.livejournal.com/) and her recently deceased cat, Julien, for whom Julien de Maupssant was named. I know it doesn't bring him back, sweetheart, but it's the only thing I can do.  <3

  
2260.238

MEMORANDUM

From: Captain, USS Enterprise  
To: All Hands

Subject: Reminders

1\. We will be arriving back on Earth for system upgrades in three days. If you notice any pieces of equipment that are in special need of repair, please pass the information along to Chief Engineer Scott so we can ensure it gets handled.

2\. There will be two weeks of shore leave while the Enterprise is docked. As always, I remind you all that you are representing Starfleet with your actions in and out of uniform. We do have an ethical standard as well as a professional one and I don't want to hear about any incidents when we get back. (And I will hear about them.)

3\. We still need to be cautious regarding the possibility of attack from the Aehallh. I realize we're close to home but that doesn't mean we can drop our guard. If you notice any unmarked vessels getting too close to us, notify security to sound the yellow alert immediately.

4\. Commander Spock will have the conn and Dr. M'Benga will be on duty in medical starting at 18:00 this evening. Under absolutely no circumstances are myself or Dr. McCoy to be disturbed tonight. I mean it. Don't test me.

5\. Have a great Sunday!

  
J.T. KIRK

\-----

Montgomery Scott made a noise that was somewhere between a chuckle and a snort as he finished the memo. He placed the PADD on the counter next to him and began to go back over the control panel, making notes of where the shorts were located with Keenser.

“What is so funny,” Pavel Chekov asked from where he sat across the room. His duty shift ended an hour before and, as was his current habit, he went down to engineering to be with Scotty.

Without looking at him, Scotty grabbed the PADD again and passed it over his shoulder. Pavel hopped up from his seat and skipped over, taking it delicately out of his hand. He read silently for a moment before making a loud gagging noise.

“Understand it is their anniversary,” he groused as he handed it back. “It is not that I am not happy for them. Must they flaunt it so?” Keenser nodded his agreement.

Scotty shrugged. “I don't know, I think it's nice. Not that the abuse of authority isn't somewhat worrying, because it is, but they're happy. They don't mean to flaunt it, they just can't hide it.”

Chekov clucked his tongue twice. “I suppose I cannot blame them. Subtlety, after all, was a Russian invention.” He stood up on his tiptoes to peer over his shoulder. “Almost finished?”

“Just about,” he said, his focus still on the console. “Just one more to check and...there we are.” He pat the side of the machine fondly. “All set, love.” He grabbed one side of the cover. “Lend a hand, Pavel?”

Chekov smiled. “Of course.” He quickly grabbed the other side of it and helped Scotty slowly place it back over the console where it belonged. It took them a moment to line it up right and they gently slid it down. Scotty grabbed his sonic screwdriver and began to refasten it into position as Chekov watched him with a smile, Keenser doing the same on his end.

“There we are.” He put the screwdriver down and as he wiped his brow his stomach growled. Scotty grinned sheepishly.

Chekov raised an eyebrow. “Once more, you forget to eat lunch?”

The engineer kept grinning, although he did flush a bit as he ran his hand through his hair.

The navigator smirked. “You are lucky that I am clever.” He then turned and gestured at a picnic basket and large thermos with two cups sitting on the floor. There was a gold and red plaid blanket spread out beneath them along with two cushions to sit on.

Scotty blinked. “Oh. You know, I was wondering what that was.”

The expression on Chekov's face changed into a sweet smile. “All of your favorites, grilled cheddar and ham, chips...”

Scotty went over to the basket and peered inside. “A jam trifle?” He looked back up at his friend. “Pavel this...you shouldn't have.”

Pavel shrugged. “Always you forget to eat.” He smiled again. “I wanted to do this for you, also.”

Scotty's face became a combination of touched and embarrassed. He couldn't remember a time where anyone had thought to do something so thoughtful for him, not since the last time he and his older sister went camping. It made him feel incredibly warm, light, and not a little flustered.

“You are my favorite.”

Chekov's eyes widened for a moment before he became incredibly pleased. “That works then, as you are my favorite as well.” He sat on one of the cushions as Scotty blushed a second time. Quickly joining him, he reached into the basket to pull out a sandwich and the chips. Pavel poured them both drinks, a whisky punch that Scotty loved.

Keenser watched the pair before rolling his eyes. Without so much as a word, the small green man decided to make himself scarce.

Honestly, they thought the captain and the doctor were nauseating?

\-----

“Chris! Hey Chris!” Hikaru Sulu called as he raced down the corridor to try and catch up to his girlfriend. “Chris!”

Christine Chapel stopped where she stood and turned to face him with a smile. “Hey you,” she said in a chipper tone. “What's up?”

He stopped running just in front of her. “Not much, just wanted to see what you were up to tonight.”

There was a pause before she answered. “Oh. Well, I have charts to go over. We're studying the affects of those Klabnian anti-bodies on auto-immune disorders. So far it looks good, but Leonard asked me to keep reviewing them for him as he'll be...indisposed tonight.” Christine made a face.

Sulu, however, was a little confused by what she said. “I don't...you're a nurse though. No offense or anything, but shouldn't M'Benga or Sylvester do that?”

“It's...good practice.” She shrugged. “I'm just six credits short of my M.D., so he figured I could use the experience.”

The pilot blinked. “I never knew that. Why didn't I know that?”

She shrugged. “Because I never told you?”

“Fair enough.” He smirked and put an arm around her shoulders. She effortlessly leaned into him and slid an arm around his waist.

“So I'm sorry, but it won't be until late that I'm free.”

“Gotcha.” They walked together for a moment, heading toward a turbo lift. “So what else are you hiding from me, Christine Chapel?”

For some reason, this made her stiffen. It passed and as she grinned up at him he forgot about it. “The four other men in my life, the fact that I'm actually French, and my ability to hit a target perfectly with a phaser rifle from five hundred meters.”

“Only four?”

“Just four.”

He smirked again. “I'm okay with all of these things. Especially the second one, _oh-la-la_.” She rolled her eyes but the grin never left her face. “No seriously, it's fine. I'll see if Riley's off duty or something. But give me a ring when you're done, okay?”

“Of course,” she said as she kissed him on the cheek. “As soon as I'm finished I'll message you.” Having reached their destination, Hikaru let go of her shoulders and she stepped into the lift. They smiled at each other for a moment before she leaned forward and kissed him once. “See you later, Hikaru.”

Hikaru waved back to her as the lift door shut.

\-----

The bridge was more quiet than usual as Commander Spock sat in the captain's chair, reviewing several reports from the recent mission to Deneb V. They would still need Kirk's final approval, but as they were not urgent it could wait until the following day.

He stared for a moment at the PADD in his hands.

Spock did not commonly get headaches, but he felt one coming on just behind his eyes. Absently, he pinched the bridge of his nose before moving on to the next report. It took him a moment to focus properly on the words and he pinched the bridge of his nose a second time.

Perhaps he was in need of meditation. His recent schedule had not allowed for much of that.

He moved his hand from the bridge of his nose to the back of his neck, as the headache began to spread its dull pain to that location. He continued to read for a moment, squinting a bit before raising the font size to be more manageable.

Spock read in silence for several minutes before he sensed that he was being watched. He looked around him on the bridge until he made eye contact with Nyota. The concern was visible on her face as she silently asked if he was all right. Spock nodded once and she nodded herself in return.

Just that small gesture made him feel much better and as the ring on her finger caught the light, his heart filled with affection for her.

She really was extraordinary.

The night they became engaged they discussed their plans for the future. Both of them agreed that a long engagement was the best option for what they wanted. The plan was to be wed during the break after the five year exploratory mission was complete, thus enabling them the freedom to begin their family immediately. As much as they enjoyed their time on the _Enterprise_ , a starship was not really a place to raise a child.

Her skills as a xenolinguist would be invaluable for diplomacy and perhaps he would move on to become an ambassador like his father.

As they turned away from each other, the pain began to flow more freely. He made a note to himself to go down to medical should it still be persisting by the next morning.

After all, it was a simple headache. It was illogical to see a doctor for something so trivial.

\-----

Jim leaned his head back against Bones' shoulder with a smile on his face, his arms wrapping around him in response.

They were laying on the couch together, Jim's back to Bones' front, as they relaxed after their anniversary dinner. The pair elected to keep it somewhat simple and low-key, just baked salmon in their quarters with some champagne and music in the background.

Jim held his hands in his own and sighed a little.

It was hard to believe that it already had been a year since they got together, and yet so much had changed. But here they were, stronger and happier than either of them could recall being ever before.

To call it _wonderful_ would be an understatement of epic proportions.

“I still say we should've done this four days ago,” Bones said in a low voice. Jim snorted as he turned his head to face him.

“Not after the way you reacted that night.”

Bones had a surprised look on his face. “I wasn't that bad.”

Jim raised an eyebrow. “Bones, you pulled out a bulleted list about why I should back the hell off because you thought I was fucking with you.”

The doctor winced. “Okay, yeah, I did do that.”

“And that's not even touching the part where I failed all over you,” Jim said as he clucked his tongue.

“I wouldn't...fail is a strong word.” Bones was visibly straining from the effort of trying this _tact_ thing he kept hearing about. “Although in retrospect it really wasn't such a bad thing. You were trying.”

“Too hard,” Jim supplied. “Like...way too hard. Like if you looked up overdoing it in the dictionary, you'd see a picture of me doing the wink-and-gun pose.”

“You don't do anything halfway, no.” Bones smiled. “But it's part of your charm.”

Jim turned himself over so that they were facing each other. “Did you just admit that I'm charming?”

“I'm going to deny it if you ever tell anyone.”

“Doesn't matter, what matters is that you just said it. I've gotten all of these other adjectives from you, but never charming. I should mark the calendar. Well, wait, it's already marked because of what today is. I'll have to add a footnote, I guess. Do calendars have footnotes? I mean I don't see why they...”

“Jim.”

“Right.” He grinned. “The point is, I'm charming!”

Bones mumbled something about keeping his mouth shut the next time. Jim frowned.

“Keep that shit up and you're not getting your present.”

“Present?” Bones looked interested. “I thought we agreed: no gifts.”

“Oh I didn't _buy_ you anything,” he replied in a mysterious tone. “It still counts as a gift, though I think it'll be as much for me as for you.” With that, Jim climbed off the couch. Bones watched him curiously.

“What're you...”

“Just sit up.” He held out his hands and helped pull Bones into sitting straight up with his back against the cushions. “Trust me, I got this.”

“That's what concerns me,” Bones said as he allowed himself to be moved around. Once he was satisfied, Jim let go of his hands with a smile.

“It's just something I've been meaning to do again for you.” For some reason, Jim was pulling off his socks.

Again? “I don't follow.”

“Oh you'll get it in a sec. Computer, play media file Elephant, track six,” Jim called as he balanced precariously on one foot. Having finished with his socks, he threw them across the room without looking or caring where they landed. Bones raised an eyebrow. Every time he did something like that Jim would make a face, pick up the clothes, and put them in the laundry. This was...unusual, to say the least.

“Did you really just...”

That was when the music started.

A guitar riff sounded over the speakers, heavy and sultry. Jim took position a couple of feet away from Bones on the couch. With a smirk, he began to roll his hips in a figure-eight pattern to the music.

Both of Bones' eyebrows raised with interest. He tilted his head to one side and leaned back against the cushions. Jim reached his hands up and began undoing the buttons of his shirt one at a time.

Well _hell_.

Happy anniversary, Bones.

Finished with the buttons, Jim's shirt hung open and exposed some of his chest and stomach. Bones shifted so that he was sitting closer to the edge of the cushion as he rested his hands on his knees. Turning so that his back was to him, Jim raised his hands to his shoulders and pushed the plaid fabric off of them. The shirt slid down his arms bit by bit until it landed on the floor.

Bones swallowed.

Jim turned so that he was facing him once more and began to dance his way closer. He rested both of his hands on the back of the couch for leverage as he continued moving to the music. Bones closed his eyes; he was close enough that he could feel the heat radiating off him and inhale the scent of his skin. Jim shimmied downwards and he opened his eyes again to watch his movements.

Just when it occurred to him that he could touch him, Jim backed away to where he was standing before. Bones cursed quietly as he slid his hands down his stomach to the waistband of his jeans. Very deliberately, Jim unbuttoned the button, then pulled the zipper down one tooth at a time. He continued to dance in front of Bones, gradually moving closer once more.

This time when Bones swallowed, he also pulled on his collar.

Hooking his thumbs into his jeans, Jim wriggled his hips a few times and began to shimmy them off. Much like his shirt, the denim slowly made its way down his thighs onto the floor. Jim casually stepped out of them as he made his way to the couch, clad in nothing but his boxer-briefs.

Bones angled his head to look up at him as Jim sat on his lap, placing his knees on either side of his hips to cage him in. The captain smiled down at him.

“Enjoying the show, sir?”

Bones _hm_ ed for a moment. He took a chance and placed his hands on Jim's thighs as he decided to play along. “I'd like it a lot better if I could take you home.”

Jim raised an eyebrow. “You're pretty forward, but I've seen you around here before. Which means you know that's not really encouraged.”

“Never was good at following the rules.” He moved his hands to the small of Jim's back, pulling him a bit closer. “I'll make it worth your while.”

“You can't afford me.”

“We'll see about that.”

Jim leaned down so that his mouth was by Bones' ear as he whispered, “Fifteen hundred.” He moved back to watch Bones' reaction.

He smirked. “Done.”

“Well, then,” Jim said. “I suppose I'm all yours.”

Bones closed the distance between their faces somewhat. “I reckon so.” He kissed him, long and leisurely. Jim placed his hands on his face and deepened it. The kissing rapidly progressed into a fevered make out session and Bones pulled Jim flush against his body. He had just slid one of his hands down to Jim's ass when it happened.

 _  
**Alert Condition: Yellow. All hands, report to stations. Repeat, Alert Condition: Yellow. All hands, report to stations.**   
_

The kiss broke and they stared up at the speakers as if personally betrayed.

“I swear to fucking God...” Jim began at the same moment Bones grumbled an “It figures.” The pair looked at each other, Bones with an expression of resignation and Jim with one of fury.

“We should probably change back into uniform and head out.”

Jim didn't answer at first; indeed, he was far too pissed. “I fucking said no interruptions and if this is for anything less than at least ten Birds of Prey I'm going to court-martial the entirety of the bridge crew that's on duty right now. All of them. Even the Yeomen.”

Bones sighed. “Come on, Jim.”

Almost shaking with anger, Jim got off his lap. He quickly spun on his heels and stalked into their bedroom to change. Bones wiped his hand down his face before sighing.

“Same ship, different day,” he said darkly as he followed his lover's example.

\-----

Lieutenant Marla McGivers, control systems specialist and ship historian, sighed as she performed a routine check on the console in front of her.

This was not what she had in mind when she enlisted in Starfleet.

She supposed that being in space was exciting. Traveling here, meeting new races there. If you were into that type of thing, space travel could certainly be a rewarding career.

The fact was, she'd much rather be in her room painting or going through all the historical information in the ship's library than doing her actual job. Ops work was dull as dishwater and she didn't understand why she couldn't just be the historian full time. Sure, sometimes she broke up the monotony by picking at the various backdoors in the Starfleet mainframe, but it wasn’t at all what she wanted to be doing with her life. In a perfect world she’d be giving her master’s thesis defense.

She sighed again, more loudly this time.

It didn't help that all the people on this ship were also as dull as dishwater. Everyone was so concerned with doing the right thing all the time and following all the rules. No one ever so much as paused to question if the rules were actually _right_ , like the way everyone reacted to the ordered destruction of that ship, the _Botany Bay_.

Finishing her diagnostics, she powered down the console. She took a look around the room.

There just had to be something more than this. There had to be someone more than this.

 _  
**Alert condition: Yellow. All hands, report to stations. Repeat, Alert Condition: Yellow. All hands, report to stations.**   
_

Those thoughts would have to wait.

\-----

Jim stepped off the turbo lift onto the bridge, heading straight for his chair without so much as a glance to anyone else. He vaguely heard Hannity call out her usual “Captain on the bridge” as he sat. The usual suspects were all in place, some looking less pleased than others. Spock nodded to him in greeting as he went to take a seat at his station. He looked out the window and saw the silhouette of a ship, although the magnification was not up and he could not quite make out what it was.

“Status,” he snapped.

“A ship appeared in our travel path a few moments ago,” Spock began. “The vessel has yet to identify itself: from what little information we have gathered, it does not appear to be from the Federation.”

Fantastic. “Any word from them?”

Uhura adjusted her ear piece. “They've continually ignored all attempts at hailing.”

“Hostile?”

“We can't rule it out. No weapons have been fired, but they're just...sitting there.”

Jim furrowed his brows. “Can we get a better look at them?”

“One moment.”

The screen flickered for a moment and the magnified view of the ship came up. Jim stood from his chair and walked a little towards the screen. He tilted his head to one side and squinted at the symbol on the ship's hull.

Wait a minute. He remembered that marking, it was in reports that Pike sent him a few months ago. The reports were about a group of anti-Federation terrorists that attacked ships without provocation.

 _Fuck._

“Weapons online, go to red alert!” Jim barked without turning around.

“Sir?” The bridge was eerily silent as everyone turned to stare at him.

“That's an order!” He went back to his chair. “Sulu, the second you get a clear shot you take it, is that understood?”

Sulu turned to face him. “They haven't...” He trailed off at the look on Jim's face. “Aye, sir.”

Before anyone had a chance to follow his orders, the ship opened fire on the Enterprise. As the shields were in the process of being fully raised, their torpedoes scored several indirect hits to the starship. Everyone on the bridge held on as it rocked from the impact.

“Shit,” Jim muttered. The red alert came up automatically, the alarm sounding over the speakers. “Damage reports!”

“Decks eight and nine are starting to report in with damages, nothing too severe and no word on any casualties yet.”

“Engineering is also reporting damage, sir, again no word on any casualties.”

At his console, Chekov went white. He turned to ask after the crew members when the ship was hit yet again. Their shields were up this time, although the ship again rocked from the impact.

Jim was grabbing the arms of his chair so hard his knuckles were white. Not like he wasn't pissed before this happened, now he was downright furious.

“Shields are holding, sir, at eighty-eight percent power.” Chekov watched the readings on his console. “Almost as if warning shots and not an actual attempt to out take us.”

“Take us out,” Sulu corrected absently as he powered up the phaser banks.

“Is what I said,” Chekov snapped. “They are not trying to destroy. Only get attention.”

“I'd hate to see if they were,” Sulu snapped back.

“It is most confounding that they have yet to...”

Uhura raised her head. “Captain, we're being hailed.” Spock almost made a face as if to say _well, never mind_.

“Put it on the screen,” Jim barked. The screen changed and before him sat a handsome man with piercing blue eyes. The man smiled with an air of superiority, his posture perfectly straight and his clothing neat and pressed. There was a small, ingratiating smile on his face.

Jim stood from his chair, glare still firmly in place. “This is Captain James T...”

“I know who you are.” His smile widened. “Although, I daresay I thought you were taller. You look taller on film.”

His hands clenching into fists, Jim took a step forward. “Well, since you don't care for things like introductions, _de Maupassant_ , I'll cut to the chase. You've engaged in unauthorized warfare in Federation territory with a Starfleet vessel. Disengage and surrender immediately or there will be repercussions.”

Spock stood from his console and moved next to Jim. “De Maupassant? The leader of the Aehallh?”

“The very same,” Julien said. Jim and Spock stared at him. “Oh come now, it's not as if you lowered your voices,” he rebuked. “Although, while we are on the subject, Mr. Spock you seem shorter in the holos. Curious.” He leaned forward in his chair, his hands folded primly in his lap. Spock blinked at him for a moment, before looking down at himself. Jim rolled his eyes. “I have a proposition for you, James...may I call you James? I find formal titles to be...stifling, at best.”

“You must have me mistaken for one of your flunkies. I'm not at all interested in anything you have to offer. I repeat, disengage and surrender, de Maupassant.”

De Maupassant shook his head and made a _tsk_ ing sound. “Such manners. One would get the impression that you are ordering me around, like one of your ensigns.”

“You expect me to play nice,” Jim spat. “You attacked my ship without cause. You've similarly attacked over a dozen vessels. _You're a terrorist._ The Federation, more importantly, I will not negotiate with terrorists. Give up or face retaliation.”

The smile finally left Julien's face, albeit only for a moment. “You would really rather we be enemies. Very well.” He nodded once. “I respectfully decline your offer gentlemen. Bonne chance.” With that, the connection terminated.

“Arm photon torpedoes. Sulu, previous orders stand. You see a shot, you _take it_ , am I clear?” Jim marched back to the captain's chair without so much as a glance towards his pilot.

“Yes, sir.”

“Captain, we were ordered to take de Maupassant and his men alive by Admiral Pike,” Spock turned to face the captain's figure. “Firing without prejudice is counterintuitive to that goal.”

Jim glared up at him. “I didn't say blow him out of the sky, Spock, I said take the shot. We can't exactly capture him while engaging in a firefight.”

Spock nodded; there was some logic to that. Without another word, he took his place back at his station.

A light came up on Sulu's console signaling that the torpedoes were armed and loaded. He glanced across the station to Chekov, who gave a nod. He reached his hand out and pressed the button, firing two torpedoes at the Aehallh ship.

They were able to dodge one of the torpedoes but the other scored a fairly direct hit in the main body of the ship's hull. They began to fire back with their phaser canons, which merely glanced off the _Enterprise's_ shields. The ship trembled with the impact and Sulu fired a second time, scoring two hits in the belly of their ship. The hull looked like it would breach at any moment.

“Hold your fire. Hail them, Lieutenant,” Kirk called to Uhura. She immediately did as she was told, and de Maupassant's face filled the screen again. He looked slightly less calm this go around, and Jim fought to keep the smirk off his face. “You know we have you outgunned. Still determined to fight this out?”

“I am afraid that we do not surrender to dogs of war, James,” Julien said. “We are all prepared to go down with the ship.”

“Really? You're prepared to sacrifice everything you've worked for?” Jim raised an eyebrow. “The funny thing about followers is that they need a leader. Tell me, if you go down who will continue in your stead?”

The other man gave Jim a long searching look. He finally began to laugh. “You are better than even rumor would say. You also present a valid argument...very well. Your way it is. I shall prepare my crew for our surrender.”

The image reverted back to a view of outside space, the other ship floating in front of it. Jim narrowed his eyes. “This feels a little too easy, doesn't it?”

“He did appear to change his mind rather quickly, for one so convicted,” Spock agreed.

“Call Cupcake and have him send a team down to the transporter room, at least two dozen, to arrest and retrieve de Maupassant and his men.”

Uhura was ahead of him, opening a comm line to security. “Aye, sir.”

Jim looked back at Spock. “Something doesn't smell right. Make sure they're armed and careful. Also make sure they understand that de Maupassant is to go into a cell by himself. I don't want any of his followers having any means of communication with him.” Uhura and some of the Bridge Bunnies looked at him curiously. “I don't trust him as far as I can throw him. Which, believe me, isn't far.”

“Got it. Bridge to Security, Lieutenant Uhura here...”

Jim stood from his chair. “Get me updated damage reports. I want to know what we're looking at in terms of repairs and casualties.”

“Yes, sir.”

\-----

As always in the aftermath of a red alert, the medical wing was teeming with activity. This time the injured and dead were minimal, but it was still over three dozen officers.

Bones was running a dermal regenerator over Ensign Richards' right arm as Scotty hovered by her biobed. He himself was sporting the remnants of a black eye and his left hand was bandaged.

“This'd be a lot easier if you'd stop mother-henning long enough for me to do my job,” Bones groused as he positioned himself somewhat awkwardly to fix her burns. Richards winced a little as it passed over a particularly painful spot.

“You performed beautifully, lass,” Scotty said as he completely ignored McCoy, who rolled his eyes in response. “You didn't run from your station, you kept doing your job. That engine would have blown if not for your quick thinking.”

Richards shrugged as best as she could. “It's part of the job.”

“And a fine job it was! I'll make sure you get a promotion for this; I'll go to the captain first thing with it!”

“Go to the captain with what now?”

Scotty jumped and Bones snorted from where he was still working on her arm. “Hi, Jim.”

Jim looked at Richards with interest for a moment. “Come here often, ensign?”

Richards shook her head no, too tired to play along.

“I was just praising her for performing so admirably under duress,” Scotty explained. “And that I'd like to recommend her for a promotion.”

Jim looked at Scotty. “Sounds reasonable. Pretty sure the brass'll agree with me too. That is, if it's okay with Lieutenant Richards...”

Richards smiled. “I'm down.”

“All right. We'll do the paperwork tomorrow.” Jim smiled as Bones paused for a second to get the angle better to finish repairing her burns. “How many more of your men are down, Scotty?”

The engineer turned somber. “Seven with burns like Richards, two didn't make it.”

Kirk nodded with an unhappy expression. “Make sure you get me their names so I can take care of it.” He always wrote personally to the family when one of his crew died, as well as giving them commendations. Jim figured it was the least he could do, given the circumstances.

“Scotty!” The three men and Richards looked up to see a slightly panicked Chekov running towards them. “Heard engineering was hit! Are you all right?”

“Right as rain, although I won't be doing any heavy lifting.” Scotty ran his good hand through his hair.

Pavel smiled, relief and joy plain on his face. “I am so happy.”

The two men gazed at each other for a time with smiles on their faces, neither of them speaking.

Jim bit back a smile as he nudged Bones carefully with his elbow. Bones raised an eyebrow at him for a moment before looking at the two men standing in front of them. In spite of his current task, he found himself smiling at the pair. Jim stopped biting it back and grinned outwardly. Richards, much like Keenser, considered this behavior old and simply rolled her eyes.

“Right well...”

“I should...”

Scotty blushed and ducked his head as Chekov laughed a little. “I should go back to the bridge. I will see you for breakfast?”

“Sounds great,” Scotty said as he smiled. “See you in the morning.”

With that, Pavel waved. As if he just realized they were present, he nodded at the others before taking off back to his station. Scotty watched him go for a while before turning his attention back to his friends.

That was when he noticed the looks he was getting.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing,” Jim said in an innocent tone. “Just your giant crush on Chekov.” McCoy coughed loudly to cover up his snickering. Richards looked up at the captain in amazement.

“I've been wanting to say that for the last five weeks.”

Jim shrugged, still grinning.

Scotty, meanwhile, was completely shell-shocked. “What,” he repeated.

The other three blinked for a moment.

“No way,” Richards whispered.

“You can't be serious,” McCoy added.

“I honestly have no idea what you're going on about.”

“Oh my god,” Jim exclaimed. “Yes! Yes this is what it felt like for you guys, right? When you all knew before I did? Yes! Oh this is just _beautiful_.” He began to do a little dance.

“Me and Pavel? Pavel and I?” Scotty shook his head. “No, that's preposterous, we're only friends.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, we are fairly close, but many people are close friends on this ship without any romance involved. We spend all of our free time together, but that doesn't mean anything, friends always spend time together. And sure I get protective of him, but he's my friend. And I have feelings for him, but that doesn't mean that...oh.” There were looks of stark realization and then there was the look Scotty had on his face. “Oh _hell_.”

Richards rolled her eyes again and lay back more comfortably on the bed. Bones simply shrugged with an expression on his face that could only be described by the phrase _it's about time_. However, Jim wore a maniacal grin that threatened to split his face in half.

“Oh God damn this feels good,” he said with a sigh.

“Don't gloat Jim, you're better than that,” the doctor chided with some mild amusement as he went back to fixing Richards' arm. She gave McCoy a grateful look as he worked on the last burned section.

Scotty continued to stand with a deer in headlights look on his face. He opened his mouth for a moment, then closed it again. “I have to...build...something...” With that, he scuttled out of the medical wing and didn't look back.

“Well, that's going to make things awkward,” Bones mumbled.

“Nah, they'll be fine,” Jim said with a shrug. “Maybe now they'll finally do something about it instead of dancing around each other.” Richards looked up to the ceiling and mumbled a _thank God_. Bones snorted.

“What're you here for, Jim? Just your usual casualty check?”

At his questions, Jim became immediately serious. “That too, but there's something else. Can I borrow you for a moment?”

Bones had his brow furrowed. “Just let me finish...here. All set.” He looked up into Richards' face. “Now don't take this as license that you should get yourself lit on fire regularly. I mean it, I don't want to see you in here for this reason again.”

Richards smiled. “Yes, doctor.”

Bones grunted once. “I don't believe you, none of you down in that department have any sense at all.” He shut the regen off and set it on the tray by the bed. “Call if it feels like it's pulling or if you have any discomfort. Jim, I'm all yours.” With that, they made their way to Bones' office, where he promptly shut the door.

“Cupcake's men are escorting the Aehallh members to the brig as we speak.”

Bones looked moderately surprised before crossing his arms. “Well, that's one question answered. I was wondering who hit us.”

“Yeah, it was them.” Jim shrugged. “Here's the thing. They went down a little easy for my liking. Can you spare a couple of people to do some scans on them?”

“I've got a few extra nurses now that most of the injuries are taken care of. What are they looking for?”

“Biological warfare. Bombs. Anything. If one of them so much as has strep throat I want to hear about it. Your people should probably go in with biohazard gear just to play it safe. I don't like these assholes and I sure as hell don't trust them.”

“Probably wise.” The doctor nodded. “What are you going to do with them?”

Jim looked off to the side through the glass wall, observing the goings on for a moment. “We'll be on Earth in a few days, I'll just hand them over to the Starfleet police. They can stand trial for what they've done.”

Bones nodded a second time. He followed Jim's gaze out into sickbay briefly, before turning his attention back to the captain. “It's going to be a while before I'm out of here. You probably shouldn't wait up for me.”

Jim turned his attention back to him with a soft expression. “I kinda figured. Sorry that this happened tonight.”

“You have nothing to apologize for, it's not like you asked them to attack on our anniversary. We can finish celebrating tomorrow; doesn't matter when we do it, long as it gets done.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Jim shrugged. He looked at him again with that same softness on his features. “Will you...”

 _Bridge to Captain Kirk._

Bones snorted and Jim made a face. He went over to the intercom by the door. “Kirk here.”

 _Admiral Pike is on the line for you, sir. He says it's urgent.”_

Jim sighed. “All right, I'll call when I'm in the ready room. Kirk out.” He looked at Bones with a rueful expression. “Same ship, different day.”

Bones chuckled. “I'll see you when I get in.”

Jim smiled at him. “Sure Bones.”

With that, the captain made his way out of the medical wing.

\-----

Spock went over the reports from security as they came in with the Aelhallh members. Per Kirk's request, de Maupassant was in a cell by himself while his followers were divided among the others. Several security guards were to stand watch over them at all times.

A message from Doctor McCoy popped up on his console briefly mentioning the captain's request for the prisoners to be scanned by the medical staff. Spock nodded once before flagging it as acknowledged. That was a wise decision on the captain's part.

He grabbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. In all the commotion from the attack, his headache was momentarily forgotten. It had since returned with a vengeance. He squeezed his eyes closed for a moment and concentrated on breathing quietly. Spock did this for several minutes until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He opened his eyes and looked up into Nyota's concerned face.

“Are you all right?”

He glanced at her hand. It made his pulse quicken a little and he felt as if he was flushing. Strange, her proximity on the bridge did not usually cause such a reaction. “I am fine.”

She removed her hand from his person, placing it on her hip. Nyota raised an eyebrow. “You've been squinting and pinching your nose as if you're in pain all evening.”

“It is...a simple headache.” Now that she had stopped touching him, he found he was able to breathe more easily. “I am certain it will cease with meditation.”

The concern on her features deepened. “I don't understand. Why don't you go see Leonard, I'm sure he can give you something for the pain.”

“It is really not severe. I am still able to perform my duties.”

“But you're obviously uncomfortable. You're squinting at me right now.”

So he was. He forced his eyes open to a normal width and looked her in the eye. It stung a little and made his head throb. He was unable to hide this fact as he placed a hand at his temple.

“Spock. Go see Leonard.”

“Doctor McCoy has more pressing matters than my discomfort.”

“More pressing than the health and well-being of the first officer? I don't believe so.”

The thing that he loved about her, moreover the thing that frustrated him, was how logical she could be.

“I am certain this is a result of a lack of meditation. I will make time to do so before attempting sleep this evening.”

Uhura looked mostly unconvinced. She folded her arms across her chest. Spock raised an eyebrow in response.

“I am being honest, Nyota. It is of little significance.”

“And I don't believe you, you're as bad as Kirk when you are injured or sick.” She shook her head. “Spock, just go see him. It'll take fifteen minutes of your time and will make me feel better.” The expression on her face softened. “Please?”

He could deny her nothing. “Very well. I will finish this report and then I shall go to sick bay.”

Nyota half-smiled. “Thank you, Spock, that's all I ask.” She touched his face briefly, causing his pulse to quicken once more, before walking back to her station. True to his word, Spock turned and finished his report. Pausing to ask Sulu to take the conn, he made his way to the turbo lift.

He did not, however, head to medical.

\-----

Jim made his way into his ready room, stopping only to engage the door locks behind him. He walked over to his intercom and pushed the line to Uhura's station.

“Kirk to Lieutenant Uhura, you can patch him through.”

 _Yes, sir. Stand by to receive transmission._

The viewscreen came to life and there was Pike in his office. It was night time in San Francisco, and through the fog little lights could be made out in the distance if he squinted at them. “Jim.”

“Admiral. To what do I owe this call? You can't have already heard about the Aehallh.”

Pike raised an eyebrow. “What about them?”

The captain found himself smiling. “Captured.”

“Really?” Christopher was blinking furiously. “When?”

“About an hour ago. They attacked us, we won, they surrendered. I have de Maupassant and twenty of his followers in my custody. We're bringing them to Earth for trial.”

In spite of himself, the admiral was clearly impressed. “Well, that's a relief to hear. Good work, Jim.”

“Thanks.” Jim smiled back. “So why'd you call?”

Growing serious once more, Pike cleared his throat. “You may want to sit down. This...well. Bad news is the only way to put it.”

A feeling of foreboding passed over Jim for a moment, and his face went blank. “I'll stand.”

“Fair enough,” Pike said with a shrug. “Jim, as you know part of my role in Starfleet is to handle its publicity and public relations. There are some...concerns about you being the captain of this exploratory mission.”

“Concerns,” Jim said flatly. “Because of the few hostile races we've encountered? Is this because of that mess with The Other Planet We...I mean, Castro?”

“No Jim, this actually is about you and your reputation.” Pike sighed. “There are concerns about your history of...philandering. Several of the races in the Federation frown heavily upon infidelity and...”

“Wait, whoa, stop.” Jim held up his hand. “What the hell are you talking about? I haven't even so much as _looked_ at another person, let alone slept with anyone besides Bones.”

“That's good to hear, but Jim do you remember what I said last time we spoke, about how I thought the two of you were romantically linked back during your days at the academy?” He waited for his nod before continuing. “Well, I'm not the only person who had that misconception. Several members of the brass, along with some Federation ambassadors, also believe that and well...”

“And because they all think Bones and I were together then, it looks like all I did was sleep around on him.” Jim rubbed his face down his hand. “Shit.”

“That'd be where I'm at, yeah. You're set to do more exploration and diplomatic missions in the beta quadrant after the two weeks off. There's not many first contact missions ahead, but there are some with a few planets that are iffy about the Federation to begin with. The concern is if we send you in to deal with them, with your reputation being what it is, they'll walk.” Pike sighed a second time. “I'd say we could just send Number One or someone else in your stead, but the reality is we're still trying to get our numbers back from the _Nerada_ incident. We don't really...have anybody else for the job.”

His lips pursed, Jim shook his head repeatedly. “With all due respect, this is bullshit. I haven't been that person in a year and a half. Even if I was still that person, I don't see why my personal life should matter a damn bit to those people. It has no bearing on how I do my job.”

“And I agree with you, Jim. Do you really think I'd be calling you about this if I hadn't already tried – and failed – to go to bat for you? This whole situation is ridiculous, but it is what it is. They're not budging. Something has to be done to clean up your image.”

The captain looked down at the floor for a second before snapping his head back up. “What are my options?”

Pike sat back in his chair. “Well, we could do a press release or conference while you're on Earth, put the rumors to rest straight from the horse's mouth.”

“I don't think that'll work,” Jim replied. “I mean if they don't even believe you that I wasn't cheating on Bones, they won't believe me or him. To them we'd have every reason to lie and none to be honest.”

“I considered that, which is why there's option two.”

“Let's hear it.”

“You're going on holiday with McCoy and his daughter, right?”

Jim stiffened; he already did not like where this was going. “The second week, yeah.”

“Well, we could just...happen to tip off the press while you're all out getting ice cream or whatever. If the paparazzi get a few shots of the happy family together, it'll go a long way to clearing your image and...”

“Absolutely not.”

“Jim...”

“No. There is no way I am doing that to Bones while he's spending time with Jo. I am not ruining the one week he'll get with her for the foreseeable future by having us get sniped by the paps. Ignoring the part where he would never forgive me when he found out, which he totally would by the way, there's the part where I would never forgive _myself_. Besides, you know I hate those dicks.”

Indeed, Jim's hatred of those photographers was almost legendary. On more than one occasion, Bones had to restrain him from beating them senseless in the days immediately following Nero's attack.

The two men were for silent for a while, each considering what could be done. Eventually, Jim's shoulders sagged a little.

“I honestly don't understand this. I do a great job captaining this ship. I've done nothing but right by Bones since we got together. It just feels like I'm being punished for that.”

“I'm not happy about it either, Jim. I mean, after everything you've done that these bureaucrats would get so caught up in a detail like your personal life...” Pike bit off his words angrily. “It just seems ungrateful.”

He nodded his agreement. “Yeah.” He sighed again. “But I don't know what else to do here.”

Pike grabbed his chin with one hand. The two men remained silent for a time, both of them considering various ideas. Slowly, the older man came to a realization.

“Well,” he began and Jim gave him a wary look. “There is a third option.”

  
[Chapter Two](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/29158.html)   



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are cordially invited to the Starfleet social function of the year. That is, assuming these terrorists and the Enterprise Crew's own issues don't get in the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “La vengeance est un plat qui se mange froid,” is the original French for the phrase “revenge is a dish best served cold.” Yes, that was originally French. Fun fact: it has been first attributed to Pierre Ambroise Francois Choderios de LaClos in _Les Liaisons Dangereuses._ However, no one can really back that up. Sorry Tarantino, it’s French, not Klingon.

_**Fic: To the End (La Comédie) 2/7**_  
Title: To the End (La Comédie)  
Series: Star Trek XI (as if I write for anything else these days): [water park 'verse](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/21874.html)  
Rating: PG-13/R for some violence, swearing, and fade-to-black sexy stuff  
Summary: You are cordially invited to the Starfleet social function of the year. That is, assuming these terrorists and the Enterprise Crew's own issues don't get in the way.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to do with the characters featured in Star Trek or the Star Trek movie from 2009. No harm was meant, so put the lawyers away, man.

Chapter notes: “La vengeance est un plat qui se mange froid,” is the original French for the phrase “revenge is a dish best served cold.” Yes, that was originally French. Fun fact: it has been first attributed to Pierre Ambroise Francois Choderios de LaClos in _Les Liaisons Dangereuses._ However, no one can really back that up. Sorry Tarantino, it’s French, not Klingon.

You know, it occurs to me that I never told you guys who I cast as my Chapel. In my head, she’s played by [Chuck’s Yvonne Strahovski](http://www.fanpop.com/spots/yvonne-strahovski/images/2520275/title/chuck-s2-promo-photo). She’s incredibly hot, but, more importantly, every week she lays the smack down as a covert C.I.A op. She is totally my head!Chapel.

Did you know the Federation has no Geneva Convention? I know this, because I researched that shit for days. There is, however, Article 14 Section 31 that gives Starfleet officers the rights to essentially throw the rulebook out the window in “extraordinary circumstances.” There is no official wording for what this entails, believe me, I’ve looked. But that is the Article 14 Jim and Julien reference in this story. And yes this is another fic where I had to google everything ever for. Someday I’ll be able to write without research again. Today? Is not that day.

I feel I should warn you guys that I have literally four pages of just author's notes for this story. I don't have a final word count yet, as I'm still working on Chapter Six, but man when I do I'll post it. Suffice to say, it's long.

  
Leonard McCoy was quiet as he walked through the quarters he shared with Jim early the next morning. Predictably, he arrived the previous evening after he was asleep and their schedules were such that he needed to be up before him as well. He sat a mug on the nightstand near the tufts of blond hair that stuck up over the blankets.

“Jim,” he said softly. He reached out and, as gently as he could, shook the captain's shoulder. “It's time to get up.”

“Five minutes,” was mumbled as the covers were pulled up even higher. Bones gave him a fond look.

“There's coffee.”

The covers were pulled down a bit and Jim peaked out for a moment. “...Two minutes.”

Bones snorted. He sat on the edge of the mattress by Jim's knees, placing a hand on his side. “Come on.”

At this, he finally, grudgingly, sat up. His hair was sticking up at several angles and he rubbed one eye absently. “I don't get it. You got in after me and you're up earlier. But you're totally awake.” He reached for the coffee and took a sip.

“Medical school,” Bones began, “is nothing if not an exercise in working through sleep deprivation.”

Jim took another sip of his coffee. “You mean it's an exercise in how much caffeine you can intake before your heart stops.”

“That varies from person to person and weight plays a factor. We did trials.”

“Of course.” Jim took another sip with a smile. “Sorry again about last night.”

Bones sighed. “I already told you not to apologize for that. It's not...”

“My fault, I know.” Jim sat the coffee back on the nightstand. “I can still be sorry it didn't go as planned. It was really going to be epic, you know?”

His face changed into a soft expression and he reached out to take Jim's hands in his. “It was.” Jim's own expression was full of love for a moment before a few shadows clouded his eyes. Bones raised an eyebrow, growing immediately concerned. “What's wrong?”

Jim shook his head. “No, it's nothing, we'll talk later. You'll be late.”

“I've got ten minutes before I have to leave,” Bones retorted. “Something's going on, just tell me what it is. You know how impatient I am.”

They stared at each other for a moment and Jim ducked his head down a little. Recognizing it as a sign that he won, Bones waited patiently for him to start talking.

“I talked to Pike last night. Apparently, there are some issues with my personal reputation and me being a famous starship captain.”

“What does your personal life have to do with your job?” Understandably, Bones looked annoyed.

“That's pretty much what I said. It has something to do with certain races and their perception of the Federation as good people.” He shrugged. “Anyways, Pike came up with an idea and it kind-of involves you.”

“Well, you know I'll do whatever I can to help. What do you need from me?”

The captain looked down at the green sheets, picking at one spot in particular. He took a deep breath before looking back up into Bones' eyes and answering with, “Marry me.”

Bones' face became blank. “Do what now?”

He winced. “I think I started with the wrong part. I mean...okay, yeah, Pike suggested we get married because that will show how serious I am about you. But...I mean, the more I think about it...” He looked off to the side for a moment with a smile. “It just feels right. I don't know...the thought of...of wearing a ring and calling you my husband...I like the way that makes me feel inside. I want to marry you, Bones.” Jim looked back at his lover and the smile fell off his face.

Bones was still staring blankly at him, not having moved a muscle.

“Okay, um, you need to say something because you didn't interrupt me like you usually do and now you're just staring and it's really freaking me out.”

He finally blinked a few times. “You want to get married because Pike told you it's how you can fix your image.”

“No,” Jim said furiously. “He made the suggestion and I told him I'd have to think about it, I didn't just go along with it. After thinking about it, I want to do it. I _want_ to marry you not for any other reason than me being in love with you.”

There was another silence as Bones blinked again and Jim fidgeted.

“I don't...I never planned on this. On getting married again.”

“You never planned on dating again, either, if I remember right,” Jim said in a soft voice.

He sighed. “That's true, but...this is different, Jim. This is a lot bigger.”

“I don't think it is. We already said forever. This is just...the legal way to do that. It's just being official about it, is all.”

Bones shook his head. “It's not that simple. There's a lot that goes into planning a wedding, a lot of little legalities that have to be ironed out. There's contracts you have to sign, not to mention finding someone to officiate or getting witnesses...”

“You don't want to.”

“What?”

Jim couldn't meet his eyes anymore. He picked at the spot on the sheets again. “You don't want to marry me.”

“I didn't say that,” Bones explained. “I just...you _dropped_ this on me with no warning, Jim. I'm not...I don't know _what_ to say here. I'm not saying no, not exactly.”

“You're not saying yes, either.” He continued to pick at the sheets, his shoulders sagging somewhat. Bones rubbed his face with both hands.

“Look, I just need time. I need to think about it. Can I have that?” Jim still wouldn't look at him, but he didn't need to for Bones to know how hurt he was. “Please?”

“No, yeah, sure,” Jim said. “Take all the time in the world.”

Bones opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. He watched Jim for a moment, his heart aching at how small and hurt he looked. He went to reach out to him, but thought better of it at the last moment.

“It's probably time for you to go.”

Bones glanced at the chronometer; he was a couple of minutes late. He sighed. “Yeah.” He stood up from the bed and looked down at Jim. “I love you.”

He didn't look up or smile, he simply nodded once and it made Bones' heart sink. Without another word, he made his way out of the bedroom and their quarters. Jim heard the front door close after him.

“Apparently not enough,” he whispered to himself.

\-----

Pavel finished getting ready for his shift, pausing for a moment in the living area to adjust his right boot. The way his pants were tucked in was irritating him and he needed to fix it, lest it bother him during his shift.

He was going to be late for breakfast with Scotty if he didn't hurry, though.

As always, the thought of the chief engineer made feel warm and he smiled to himself. Scotty was one of the few people that really got him, so it was only natural that he had fallen for him. It was the first time he felt this way in a long time, not since Irina actually. They laughed a lot and helped each other with an ease that he didn't know was possible. He really, _really_ cared for Scotty a lot.

Which was why he was being subtle and making moves similar to the ones the captain made with the doctor. They were really close friends and he did not wish to jeopardize that by moving too fast.

Even if he did know just how good they would be together.

He also had to admit that it was somewhat predictable. After all, he'd always had a thing for older men. That kind of thing, Pavel figured, was normal when you were a child prodigy and always a few years younger than your classmates. Girls he preferred to be the same age as him, but men he always wanted older.

Prestige aside, he exalted at the chance to work under Pike for a reason. He snickered to himself for a moment. Working under Pike, indeed. Sometimes he forgot how clever he could be.

He heard a door slide open and reflexively he glanced at it. He stopped and stared. Hikaru was exiting his bedroom, ostensibly to head to the mess like Pavel.

His stomach dropped down into his knees, all happy thoughts forgotten.

It was not as if the treatment he had given him for the past four months was undeserved. Quite the contrary, he deserved little more than scorn for his actions and he was aware of that fact.

That didn't make it any less painful.

Hikaru took a moment to adjust his tunic sleeves, a slight frown on his face. Eventually he sensed he was being watched and looked up. His eyes met Pavel's, a neutral look on his face.

Pavel waved.

It was not returned.

The two stared at each other for a time, and he slowly dropped his hand down by his side. Sulu began to make his way to their front door.

“Hika...Lieutenant Sulu?”

His roommate stopped and turned to look at him, still with that guarded expression.

“I apologize,” Pavel began. “I spoke harshly with you last evening on the bridge. Was uncalled for and I am sorry.”

The pilot inclined his head in a slight nod. “You don't have to apologize, we were under attack. It happens.” He shrugged. “I appreciate it, though.” With that, he turned and left their quarters.

Pavel found himself deflate at this. On the one hand, he was completely professional towards him and didn't use a colorful idiom for where he could stick his apology. On the other, he didn't offer one in return or really accept it.

At least he wasn't ignored completely, which he probably would have been even just a few weeks ago. Small progress was still progress, he supposed.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he too made his way out of their quarters.

\-----

Marla McGivers scanned the crowd in the mess hall, looking for a place to sit. It took her a while, but she saw that a seat was open at Ricky's table. She wasn't particularly close with him, but she knew him fairly well from their time together at the academy. She began to walk over when she saw Kevin Riley sit down across from him. She didn't know Riley very well either, but the times they had spoken she found him to be nice, the same way everyone else in Starfleet was nice.

“Is it all right if I sit here?”

Ricky looked up at her with a smile. “Sure Marla. Hey Kevin, you know Marla right?”

“Yeah, of course,” he said with a smile. “Always nice to see you.”

She smiled and nodded in return.

“Anyways,” Ricky said, “Kirk's antsy about these jokers for some reason. He's got us watching them around the clock, especially their leader.”

Marla looked up from her pancakes. “I'm sorry, what's this?”

“You didn't hear?” He looked at her with wide eyes. “The people who attacked us last night are terrorists and we have a bunch of them in custody, including their leader. Like I said, Kirk's nervous about them, so we're all on a rotation guarding them. I've got to do it during beta shift.”

Riley shook his head a few times. “I don't know what they were expecting, attacking the _Enterprise_. We're the flag ship for a reason.”

She was listening with rapt attention. “Terrorists? What kind of terrorists?”

“They're Romulan sympathizers, anti-Federation douchebags,” Riley said as he buttered his toast. “Apparently they think the Federation is some sort of dictatorship, and they're trying to get it to disband. They attack a lot of ships, to send some sort of message or whatever.”

“Yeah pretty much,” Ricky said with a nod. “Although their leader seems nice enough, he was very polite about the whole thing. He just kept smiling while we locked him up. I don't blame Kirk for being suspicious, something's up with that guy.”

Riley nodded his agreement.

Marla, on the other hand, was completely fascinated. “This leader, what's he like?”

“His name's Julien. Accent pegs him as French, dresses like he's rich.” Ricky shrugged. “It's weird, his followers were all beside themselves that they couldn't be with him. It makes me think they're like a cult or something.”

“Wouldn't be the first time,” Kevin muttered darkly.

She brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face. “Go on.”

“Anyways, we're going to turn them into the authorities when we dock at Earth. Starfleet wants this Julien guy to stand trial for what he's done.”

Marla's expression changed from interested to somewhat sad. “They're taking him to court?”

“Yeah. With the amount of damage this guy's caused, he's going to get the book thrown at him I bet.” Ricky drank his coffee. “He'll be lucky if he gets life, you know?”

“Sucks for him,” Riley said with a shrug. “Hey did you hear about Richards in engineering? She's getting a promotion.”

“Oh sweet,” he said. “She works pretty hard, so that's good to hear.”

The topic of conversation was changed, but Marla found she was still focusing on the terrorists. She was particularly fascinated by the thought of their leader. He didn't sound like a terrorist to her, he sounded more like a man with convictions. A man with a _cause_ , which is more than she could say for a lot of the people in Starfleet.

As she slowly began to eat, she made a note to try to make time to go down to the brig. Perhaps see this Julien for herself.

\-----

As usual, the bridge was filled with a quiet form of activity, everyone at their stations performing their duties with grace and precision. Spock found himself reviewing documents regarding the capture of their prisoners.

Well, reviewing as best as one can with a sharp pain behind his eyes.

Instead of going to the medical bay for treatment, he opted to go back to the quarters he shared with Nyota. For thirty minutes, he meditated and it appeared to have cured his headache. He felt immeasurably better and went back to the bridge, where he performed his duties at a higher efficiency rate than typical.

When he woke that morning, however, not only had the headache returned but it was even worse than it was previously. It was most frustrating indeed.

He sighed and rubbed his temples. Fortunately Nyota was on gamma shift that day and therefore was not present on the bridge to see him so stressed.

It was very unlike him and illogical to lie to her, but something about going to see Doctor McCoy regarding this ailment made him feel...uneasy. He was distinctly uncomfortable with the thought of being examined, as if he should keep this private. He couldn't really figure out what was making him react that way, which further cemented his belief that he should keep it to himself.

Spock closed his eyes for a moment as he deepened his breathing. Meditation exercises seemed to make the pain abate for a few hours here or there, and so he kept taking the time to do it when his head would ache. Breathe in, out, slowly. Just a few deep breaths and he was already feeling better. He opened his eyes and surveyed the bridge yet again.

They would be back on Earth in forty-eight hours. There was a Vulcan healer who worked not too far from Starfleet Headquarters. Perhaps he could consult with her if the pains still continued in that time.

For now, he continued to breathe.

\-----

Around lunchtime, Hikaru Sulu made his way into the medical wing to pick his girlfriend up as he did every other day they were on shift at the same time. Geoffrey M’Benga was fiddling with one of the biobeds near the front entranceway, and he looked up at Hikaru with a smile.

“Hi Hikaru. Lunch time already?”

“Sure is,” he answered in a bright tone. Pausing to look around him for a moment, he looked back at Geoff with a curious expression.

“She’s in the back supply closet with Kowalski handling something for Leonard.”

“Oh sure,” he replied as he glanced toward McCoy’s office. Speaking of... “I should go say hi to him while I’m waiting.”

For some reason this made the smile leave Geoff’s face. “...I’m not sure that’s a good idea right now.”

The pilot looked at him again with a curious expression. “What makes you say that?”

Geoff gave a somewhat helpless shrug. “He came in all quiet this morning and just kind of delegated everyone into doing busywork, I guess so we’d leave him alone.”

“That’s not that unusual, you know how he gets. He’s just in one of his moods.”

“Maybe. This feels different though. He’d barely look at us and he hasn’t said so much as ten words to anyone, let alone snapped or complained. We’ve all just let him be because that’s obviously what he needs.”

Sulu clucked his tongue once. That wasn’t normal at all. He remembered a time about a year ago where McCoy was in a similar state. He got him through it by talking things out. Maybe he could try it again. “I think I’ll take my chances. If he tells me to back off, I’ll just come get Chris.”

Geoff nodded. “Sure. Good luck.” With that, he went back to the biobed, leaving Sulu to walk across the med bay and to McCoy’s door. After hesitating for a moment, he rang the entry bell.

“Come in,” said the doctor and wow, yeah he really did sound kind-of defeated. This may be worse than he thought. He slid the door open and stepped inside. “Just thought I’d say hi while I’m here.” He paused for a moment. “You don’t look so hot. Everything all right?”

Indeed, he didn’t look hot at all; he actually looked quite miserable. He kind-of half-shrugged for a moment. “I’m not sure I should say anything. It’s private.”

That ruled out everything except his relationship with the captain.

Uh oh.

“I see.” Sulu hesitated for a moment before continuing. “Well, I’ve been helpful in the past, but I also understand if this is something you can’t really talk about. It’s your call though, I’m good either way.”

He found he didn’t quite know how to continue the conversation, so he decided to just wait for either an invitation to sit or him being kicked out. McCoy silently regarded him for a long moment before he gestured at one of the chairs across his desk. Inwardly relieved at his success, he took the seat and waited.

“I probably don’t have to say this,” Leonard finally began, “but this doesn’t leave this room.”

Okay wow. This must be serious because normally when they talked there were no such caveats.

“Sure.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, wiping a hand down his face. “Okay.” Leonard swallowed once. Best to just come out with it. “Jim asked me to marry him.”

“What? That’s fantastic! I mean it’s a little surprising because of the timing, but it’s not a shock or...” he trailed off as he looked at the other man’s face. “...It was a shock to you, wasn’t it?”

“Putting it mildly,” he said in a dry-yet-sad tone. “Apparently, there are some problems with his image and Pike suggested we get married to lay them to rest.”

Oh.

“You think the only reason why he asked is because of Pike?”

“He admitted he’d never have thought to if not for this, yeah.”

“Yeah, but it’s also Jim you’re talking about here.” Sulu leaned forward in his chair. “Just because the idea wasn’t his doesn’t mean the actual question’s not. He doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to do. We both know if he didn’t genuinely want to spend his life with you, he wouldn’t ask.”

Rather uncharacteristically, McCoy looked down at his shirt sleeves. He began to pick at the hem of one of them, a nervous habit Sulu recognized as belonging to the captain. He did this for a while without looking up before finally speaking again.

“I’m not good at being a husband.”

“You didn’t think you were good at anything involving romance before Jim.”

“No, that’s...I mean, yes, that’s what I thought, that’s true. But, Sulu, I was _really bad_ at being a husband.”

“How so?” Hikaru leaned forward in his chair, genuinely curious. The doctor never really opened up about his marriage before, not even really to Kirk. This could maybe help him suss out the problem.

“We only got married because Jocelyn got pregnant.”

That was unexpected.

“We’d only been together a little while, and it seemed like the right thing to do. Then Jo was born and things seemed better. They weren’t amazing, but they were good. Then...I don’t know. I realized it was a mistake after a couple of years, and I think she did too, but we’re both stubborn, and we never spoke to each other about our concerns.” He looked up again and Sulu was taken aback by just how much fear he saw in his eyes. “What if I make another mistake like that? What if it doesn’t work and we stay together even though we shouldn’t? I’ll lose everything, and I just can’t hurt him like that.”

Thinking very carefully before he spoke, Hikaru managed to put a reassuring look on his face.

“I think you worrying about this at all says that you’d do much better this time.”

The doctor didn’t look convinced.

“I mean, you just said you married her out of obligation. With Jim, you don’t have that. You have nothing but how you feel for him and how he feels for you. You’d both move heaven and earth for each other. You have one of the strongest partnerships I’ve ever seen. More to the point, you talk to each other about things.”

There was an awkward silence.

“I went overboard, didn’t I,” Hikaru said with a wince.

“Little bit, yeah.”

“Sorry.”

Bones shrugged. “It’s fine, you just sound like my Aunt Ginger.”

Hikaru winced a second time. “Anyway, my point is that you guys are solid. I’m pretty sure you’ll be okay.”

“But what if we’re not?”

“But what if you are?” Hikaru shrugged. “I mean I can’t tell you what to do. All I can tell you is that he loves you.” He glanced out the glass wall and spotted his girlfriend. She noticed him looking at her and waved to him with a grin. “You’re the only one who can decide if the risk is worth it.” He stood from his chair. “I’m sorry I can’t stay, I’ve got lunch plans. You can comm me if you need to talk more, okay?”

McCoy nodded. “I think I’m good, I just need a little more time to think. Thanks, Sulu. I just...thanks.”

The pilot smiled. “Hey, I should be thanking you for what you do for Christine.”

Leonard looked confused. “How’s that?”

“You know, with letting her get that practice at reading those lab results for when she can finish getting her MD last night.”

Both of his eyebrows raised at that. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. She doesn’t examine charts, and she wasn’t even here last night until we went on the yellow alert.”

A feeling of dread began to overtake Hikaru. If she wasn’t here then that meant she lied to him. Why? Why would she do that? “Oh. I must have...misheard her or something. It’s my mistake, sorry.”

“No problem.” The doctor didn’t quite smile, but he didn’t look so defeated either. That would have made Hikaru feel better but just...not right then. “Thanks again, Sulu. I mean it.”

“Anytime.” With a wave, he made his way out of the office and towards the front door, where Christine was waiting.

“Hey you,” she said with a bright smile, and in spite of the circumstances he felt his spirit lift a bit at that. “Ready?”

He opened his mouth for a moment then closed it. On the one hand, he didn’t want to pretend that things were okay. On the other, he had no idea how to ask her about this without being accusatory. It was probably best to wait before confronting her, just so he didn’t cause a scene.

But then again, it was more likely that it was nothing, or that he misunderstood her. Maybe she just wanted some time to herself and didn’t feel like arguing about it.

Still though, if there was anything he hated it was dishonesty. Being lied to for any reason had the potential for deal-breaking with him. Look at what happened between him and Pavel. There was no reason why she couldn’t have just told him that.

“I can’t after all. I think I’m getting a headache and I can’t really bail on the rest of my shift. I think I’ll just grab something light and take it in my quarters, if that’s okay.”

Christine frowned at him. “I’m sorry. Do you want me to grab a hypo for you right now? Or I could bring it to you...”

“No, I’ll be fine. I’ve got stuff in my quarters and I just think I should be alone and quiet.” Admittedly, he realized that two wrongs didn’t make a right, but she was acting like nothing had happened. She was acting normal, and she had _lied_ to him. He just needed to calm down and think.

Alone.

The frown turned to flat out worry. “Okay. I’ll come by after work and check on you.”

He forced a smile he didn’t really feel on his face. “Sure. Sounds good. I’ll see you.”

Without so much as a kiss goodbye, he turned and left medical, leaving a worried and somewhat perplexed Nurse Chapel in his wake.

\-----

Without preamble, Spock entered the captain’s ready room, keeping the door open behind him.

“It is time.”

“Do I have to? Because I’m really not fucking up for this. I mean, shouldn’t Cupcake or someone do this instead of me?” Jim Kirk looked imploringly at his first officer. “I mean, my patience is like _gone_ , and I’ve been snapping at the yeomen.”

“While that is troublesome,” Spock grudgingly agreed, “de Maupassant needs to be interrogated before we hand him over to the Starfleet Police in two days. Per standard protocol, that duty befalls the captain as outlined in Article 30, section...”

“I know the code, Spock. Shit.” Jim sat down in his desk chair with a flounce. “I just hate everything right now, but _especially_ that guy. He’s just so smug and self-possessed and just...something is completely wrong here. Can’t you feel it?”

“Deciding to ignore protocol because of one’s personal feelings is illogical,” Spock argued. “However, I must concede the point that this was, as you said, too easy. It would not surprise me if there is something that we are not seeing.”

Jim nodded. “Well, good, at least I’m not crazy. Though seriously, if he pulls that smug shit again I may just go ahead and beat his ass anyway. Article 14 and whatnot.”

“There is a thin energy barrier separating you from causing him physical harm,” Spock pointed out as he lightly gripped the bridge of his nose. This caused Jim to pull himself together for a moment and eye him with concern.

“You all right?”

“It is only a headache.”

“Have you taken anything? I’m sure Bo...someone in medical can fix you up.”

Spock shook his head. “It is not significant. I have been neglecting my meditation for several days now. Once I do that more regularly, I shall be fine.” He let go of his nose. “You are stalling.”

“I’m genuinely concerned because you don’t get headaches.”

Spock stared at him for moment.

“Fine, I’m stalling. Shut up.” He got up out of the chair. “Come on, we’re burning daylight.”

“I do not understand that idiom as daylight by its very nature is burning as it is a chemical reaction in a star’s...”

“Spock?”

“Yes?”

“ _Let it go_.”

Spock stared at him for a moment. He obviously was not being facetious when he said he was in a bad mood. Wordlessly, he turned and they began to make their way down to the brig. It was tense, unusually so, and Spock found himself wondering exactly what happened to put the captain in such a state. He was about to ask when they found themselves at the doorway of their destination.

Oh well.

Jim somewhat angrily punched in the code and stepped through, Spock not too far behind him. They walked past the cells together and most of them were full of Aehallh members. As he specified, Julien de Maupassant sat in one by himself down at the end. He sat with his arms crossed and his eyes closed on the edge of the cot. Jim stood just in front of blue barrier of the cell door, also with his arms crossed. After a moment, de Maupassant sensed he was being watched and he opened his eyes.

“I was wondering when you would come to visit,” he said softly. “You have kept me waiting for quite a while, James.”

“Stop calling me that,” Jim snapped. “You keep acting like we’re friends. We’re _not_.”

“I am merely attempting to be civil.”

“You attacked my ship and you want civility? Are you kidding me?” Jim uncrossed his arms and glared at Julien. “You’re unbelievable.”

“One man’s opinion.” He stood and moved to stand close to the barrier without touching it. “Others disagree.”

“I’m not interested in how your sycophants feel about you. I’m honestly not interested in much you have to say.”

Julien made a disapproving noise with his tongue. “I am merely making a point that there is no need for us to be hostile to one another. You say we are not friends, I simply see no reason why that cannot change.”

Pointedly ignoring his words, Jim got as close the barrier as he could. “Why’d you do it? You’re not stupid, you know your ship was outclassed by us and that once the surprise wore off we’d have you nailed. So why come after us? Why come after any of the ships you’ve attacked? What was in it for you?”

Strangely enough, the man smiled at his question. He slowly placed both of his hands on either side of the doorway, leaning in as if he was a lover. He whispered his words when he finally spoke.

“La vengeance est un plat qui se mange froid.”

Jim narrowed his eyes. “Now I know you’re messing with me. Revenge? I mean, that doesn’t even make sense. For what?”

“For your treatment of the Romulans. For your silencing of their plight and your habit of putting them down as if they were nothing. For your constant enforcement of your misguided ideals and despicable so-called morals. The Federation doesn’t want peace, it wants power. It wants slaves. It will have those slaves through the guise of peacekeeping measures. You all play as if you are superior because of your exalted Prime Directive deeming cultures unacceptable if they have no technology you can pilfer. It’s shameful.”

“You’re disgusting,” Jim spat. “You stand here and lecture me on the failings of the Federation, when you run around attacking innocent civilians to what? Try to prove some point?”

“I did what I had to do to show the Federation’s hand. It was all to demonstrate you are nothing better than the people you claim to be against and strike down in the name of your supposed righteousness. Considering the rigidity and unfair dogma the Federation preaches, I cannot say that I was surprised at someone striking against you so, as Nero did.”

Spock stiffened at this.

Jim, however, snarled. “You’re insane. You’re absolutely, completely insane if you think that what Nero did was in any way deserved.”

“I said no such thing. I said it was not a surprise,” Julien said as he smiled. “No one deserves to have their home destroyed, not out of anger or out of simple bureaucratic inaction. I simply cannot blame him for feeling strongly about the situation, and I think the lack of compassion your Federation has categorically shown the Romulan Empire since is deplorable.”

Spock’s eyes actually widened and Jim’s face flushed with anger. He gently pulled him a little away from the cell. “You okay,” he whispered to the Vulcan.

After closing his eyes for a moment, Spock turned to him with a carefully neutral expression. “Not particularly,” he whispered back, “Displaying my anger solves nothing. However, I believe it would be logical to defer all further conversation to you.”

“Fair enough,” he said. They made their way back to the cell and a somewhat smug de Maupassant. “You’re a miserable piece of shit.”

“Captain...” Spock interrupted as he held up his right hand as a signal to let it go. He made no further attempts to interrupt him.

“Such language,” Julien scolded. “I have only addressed you with the utmost respect. It is a shame you feel you cannot give me the same treatment in kind.”

“Just play straight with me. What’s your angle?”

“Angle? I believe I have explained...”

“You want me to think you’ve explained. You want me to believe you’ve told me everything. You also think by throwing around what happened to Vulcan you’ll throw the two of us off-balance so that we won’t put it together. You say you’re familiar with me, and yet you’re underestimating my intelligence.” It was Jim’s turn to smile, although it was cold and humorless. “You think I’m not onto you, you think I don’t see that there’s something more going on here. You think you’re playing me.”

Julien shook his head. “How could I possibly play you? I’m trapped in a cell, awaiting transfer to a military prison to answer for my theoretical crimes. You’ve isolated me from my supporters. My ship is crippled and being held in your tractor beam. You did not even let me keep the cufflinks that have been passed down in my family for generations or my shoes.” With a sigh, he made his way back to the cot and sat down. “I do not understand what more you would like from me, James, other than me outright speaking the words _you have won_.”

Grudgingly, Jim had to admit he had a point. The evidence was lacking for him to be so accusatory. It was cut-and-dry from the outside. Maybe most of it was his frustration with Bones, but still...

Something wasn’tl right.

“I’m going to ask you one more time; why? Why orchestrate all of this instead of going through the proper channels to champion your cause?”

Julien shrugged one shoulder. “Sometimes one has to shout to be heard. That is all.”

“You wish us to believe that everything you have done is simply to get a message across,” Spock replied, having obviously regained his footing. “That is illogical, as people are more open to changing their minds without provocation or hostility.”

Jim looked at Spock, who was watching de Maupassant carefully. His gaze was somewhat shuttered and he couldn’t tell if it was from the headache or if he was still concealing his outrage at the mention of the destruction of Vulcan. He looked back at the terrorist, who was still sitting implacable before him.

“It is what it is,” he said. “It is the choice I made. I did not feel I could afford the time to try navigating through proper channels, I believe strongly that things must be changed now. As previously stated, I did what I had to do for my cause. It is unfortunate that there was collateral damage, but such a thing is seldom avoidable.”

Jim looked at Spock a second time, and this time he met his gaze. They looked at each other for a long moment before the whistle of a communicator sounded.

Terrific.

Realizing it was his, Jim grabbed it from his waist and stepped away to answer it. He paused and looked back at the cell. Julien was still sitting neatly on his cot while Spock said something to him. He was just far enough away he couldn’t quite make out the conversation, but he did see that Julien was answering politely.

“Kirk here, go ahead.”

“Captain, it’s Doctor M’Benga. We’ve got the results of the scans on the Aehallh members you asked for. They’re ready whenever you are down here in sickbay.”

Jim sighed. Going to sickbay meant seeing Bones and he was so not ready for that. “Can’t you just tell me over the comm?”

It was Geoff’s turn to sigh. “Medical Code states that...”

“I know, I know, you can’t,” Jim interrupted. “I was being rhetorical. I’ll be down in a few, Kirk out.” He closed the communicator and turned his attention back to Spock and Julien. After walking back over, he tapped Spock on the shoulder. “I need to head down to medical. I’m going to call Cupcake to get a security officer here so you can keep doing what you’re doing.”

Spock nodded. “Agreed.”

Jim frowned as he opened his communicator back up.

He was pretty sure he wasn’t up for this, but it was all part of the job.

\-----

Montgomery Scott waited in line at the mess hell for a sandwich. He hadn’t eaten yet today and was frankly starving.

A nagging voice in the back of his head reminded him that he was supposed to have breakfast that morning with Pavel. He quickly squashed it and put it to the side.

Okay, so he might have possibly panicked when he woke up that morning and remembered he was to meet Pavel for breakfast, before pacing frantically around his quarters, taking two showers, having a triple of whiskey, and then deciding not to go. He changed and went straight to engineering without looking back.

Although, he did feel terrible about standing Pavel up. He just wasn’t sure he could face him after his giant epiphany of terror and doom from the night before.

He had feelings for Pavel.

He had strong feelings for Pavel, actually, and it was kind-of amazing that he hadn’t noticed it. It was so easy and so natural to fall for him, they shared a lot in terms of things like basic personality and their world views. They were both brilliant. The things they had talked about building together were unparalleled.

But...Scotty was thirty-eight years old. Pavel was about to turn twenty and could probably have anyone he wanted. He’d even been with the Captain! He’d seen the holos of his former girlfriend, Irina, also and wow, she was a stunner. He should be with someone young and gorgeous like he was. Not an old pub crawling engineer.

He realized it was cowardly to just bail on him like that, but he honestly wasn’t sure how to face him. If the captain, doctor, and Richards had all noticed, then he must be incredibly obvious. What would he do if Pavel were to figure it out, assuming he hadn’t already? He didn’t think he’d do something unkind but he’d most certainly get rejected. He pretty obviously only thought of Scotty as a friend.

Even worse, what if he was only nice to him out of pity?

A nagging voice in the back of his mind pointed out that friends don’t generally orchestrate fancy picnics for each other, or spend every moment of their off time coming to visit people while they worked, even out of pity, but he pushed it aside and grabbed his sandwich.

It was inappropriate.

He just wasn’t a suitable partner for Pavel, not much how much he cared for him. Which, hey, it stung a little to know that but facts were facts.

“Where were you this morning? I waited and you did not show.”

Bugger.

“Oh, hi Pavel.” He turned around and there he was with a confused expression. “There was just...the dilithium crystals needed recalibration and I just...forgot. I’m sorry, I should have messaged you.”

Pavel’s face softened at this. “Is all right. These things, they happen. You can make it up to me with lunch.” He grinned.

“Well, actually,” Scotty began. “I’ve got to work through my lunch too. The damages from the attack won’t repair themselves and we need to be ready for the upgrades when we get to Earth.”

The navigator frowned. “Well, all right. Dinner then.”

Careful to not look at him, Scotty shook his head. “No, I’ll be working late in the ‘tubes. Today’s just...not good, Pavel.” He began to make his way out of the mess hall. “I’m sorry.”

He really was. He knew it wasn’t exactly fair to ditch him like that, but he just had absolutely no idea how to talk to him. He needed to think.

If he had turned around though, he would have seen the hurt look on Pavel’s face.

\----

Jim hesitated for a moment before heading into the medical wing, making sure to school his features into a carefully neutral expression. He was greeted inside by the sight of Bones discussing something with Geoff. It made him stop for a moment as he hovered just inside of the sick bay door.

Yeah, he really wasn’t ready for it.

Seeing Bones was like a punch to the throat delivered by an angry bear that shot bees from its mouth, and Jim was allergic to bees. The last thing he needed was to be reminded of his rejection.

Granted, Bones hadn’t said no, not exactly. But he hadn’t said yes, either, and knowing him a no was way more likely given his reservations.

And it wasn’t like they weren’t real or anything, either. Jim didn’t know much about Jocelyn or their marriage, but he knew it did a real number on him. They had been divorced for going on five years and only just recently had they begun to speak amicably, partly because of Jim pointing out that Jo deserved having two parents not napalming each other when in the same room together.

Jim understood all of this, and he definitely understood how random the whole proposal thing seemed, especially with the way he opened the conversation.

It still hurt, worse than just about anything he ever felt before.

He knew Bones loved him, he just...he guessed he thought he loved him enough to set aside his fears. The revelation that he didn’t...well, it stung.

Maybe he was failing somehow in their relationship that Bones didn’t feel safe with him, but he honestly couldn’t see where he was making a mistake. He clearly was though, if Bones didn’t want to marry him, if Bones didn’t feel the same way.

He sighed out loud.

Whatever. He had other things to worry about that took precedence over his relationship drama. Without another thought, he made his way over to Geoff and Bones.

“So,” he began. “What’s up, Docs?”

Geoff smiled and Bones gave him a look that was a cross between worried and professional. “Captain, we’ve got the results of the scans you ordered.”

“I gathered,” he snapped, and he couldn’t help but feel a little triumphant over the fact that Bones winced. “Sorry, I mean...what’s up?”

The two doctors looked at each other for a moment before Bones finally began to speak. “They all came back clear. No biohazards, nothing even on a molecular level.”

“Really?” Jim had to admit he was a bit surprised.

“Some of them are passing around a cold, but other than that they’re all clear,” Geoff said with a shrug. “Even de Maupassant. Apart from traces from some old injuries, he’s in perfect shape.”

Huh.

Well, shit. There went that theory. This wasn’t enough to make him relax about Julien or his little league of flunkies, although it was a bit of a relief that his crew was not in any immediate danger from any biological threats.

For a moment he thought about Spock and his headache. He made a note to order him down to medical, just to play it safe.

“All right then,” he finally said. “If that’s all, I’ll be heading back to the brig.”

“Actually,” Bones began. “There is something, if you’ve got a minute.” Geoff looked back and forth between the two of them. He noticed the stiffness of Jim’s posture and the somewhat fearful look on Bones’ face.

“Well, I’m uncomfortable,” he said in a cheery tone. “I’ll be...checking the vaccines to make sure they still...exist. Or something.” With that, he was off with a sheepish smile.

A feeling of dread began to wash over Jim before he squashed it. He swallowed.

“I’m not sure I do.” It was kind of petty, and immature, but just...not then. He just couldn’t right then.

“Please, Jim,” he said and wow, he was begging. A small part of Jim couldn’t help but feel a little good at that. “Just a minute in my office. I promise I’ll let you go after that.”

The most frustrating part about everything was the fact that, even though Bones could say no to him...he couldn’t say no to Bones.

“Fine. One minute.” He turned and made his way to Bones’ office without looking back to make certain he was following. He opened the door and crossed the room to pace behind the desk. Bones quickly entered and both shut and locked the door behind him.

“Well? Go ahead. Get it over with.” He continued to pace.

Bones stood by the door with his back resting against it. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes back up and he watched Jim move. His right hand came up and extended outwards as he said the word, “Yes.”

Jim rolled his eyes. “I don’t really have time for games, Bones, just go ahead and...” Slowly he stopped pacing and turned to face him. “Yes?”

Bones seemed to calm a little her began to smile a little. “Yes.”

As a broad grin formed on his face, Jim felt himself become about ten times lighter. Bones was going to marry him! “You...we’re...”

“Yeah, we are.” Bones turned more serious for a moment. “I don’t want a long engagement though, I want to do it while we’re on Earth so Jo can come. I realize that’s not really any kind of notice but...”

“No, no I wouldn’t....I wouldn’t want it any other way either! We can do it the day after we get back, though it’ll probably have to be in San Francisco. We’ll have to delay going to Hawaii by a couple of days, but now that can be our honeymoon. I just...I can’t...” Something occurred to him then and his face fell a little. “I don’t have a ring for you.”

Bones waved a hand. “We don’t need that bullshit, Jim, the wedding bands will do just fine.”

“The way I asked you was terrible,” Jim kept going on his tangent. “I can’t fix the ring part, but I can fix that.” He walked over to where Bones was standing and slowly got down onto one knee.

“What are you doing,” Bones hissed.

“Leonard Horatio McCoy,” Jim began very solemnly. “I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you honor me by giving me your hand in marriage?”

For some reason, Bones’ face was bright red and he started to kind-of pull on his shoulders. “Jim, get off the floor.”

Jim ignored him and tried asking again. “Will you marry me, Bones?”

“Get off the damn floor!”

He just shook his head with a grin. “Marry me, Bones.”

Glaring down at him, Bones retorted with, “I’m not saying yes again until you get up off the floor.”

“Well, I’m not getting up off the floor until you say yes,” Jim shot back.

They stared at each other for a while, neither of them budging. Finally, Bones slumped a little.

“Fine, dammit, yes. You happy? Now get up, asshole.” Jim obliged and reached out towards him. Bones grudgingly met him halfway and he pulled him into a long, deep kiss.

That was when the cheering and applause thundered throughout sick bay. Bones grimaced just as Jim broke the kiss and looked out through the glass wall they were standing in front of. The entirety of the med bay staff were hooting, cheering, and clapping for them. Even Chapel.

“I uh...I forgot about the windows.”

“You don’t say.”

“That’s why you wanted me off the floor, isn’t it?”

“It certainly is.”

“Shit.” Jim ducked his face down into his shoulder. “There’s only one thing to do.” Without so much as another word, he managed to dip Bones in his arms. The doctor flailed a little in surprise and began to swear profusely. “May as well give ‘em what they want.”

He then leaned down and planted a long, deep kiss on his mouth. Bones continued to flail a little but quickly relaxed as he brought his hands up to cup Jim’s face. The cheering grew much louder, although at this point Chapel was rolling her eyes as she went back to her work.

And if three of the nurses took a picture and sent it to the all hands list with the caption of “guess who’s getting hitched, y’all,” well...who could blame them?

\-----

When her shift was over, Marla made her way down to the brig. She had her toolkit in her right arm so if anyone asked why she was there she could claim to be working. Being on the engineering staff meant she had the access codes to almost all areas of the ship, so getting in wasn’t a question. She punched the buttons and quietly made her way inside.

The Aelhallh members sat in their cells, some of them sleeping. Most of them were talking quietly to one another. A few still were eating the rations that had been brought down to them by security. They looked cramped and uncomfortable, which she supposed was typical for prisoners.

A few of them looked up at her as she passed and she smiled at them. They smiled back, obviously relieved at the presence of a friendly face. Her heart went out to them.

She glanced up ahead and noticed that one man was alone. He was also being interrogated by Commander Spock and Lieutenant Anderson. That was odd, where was the captain?

The PADD strapped to her belt vibrated. She decided to play it safe and duck behind a wall just out of view of the First Officer and Security Chief. Wondering who would possibly be messaging her right then, she pulled up the message on her PADD.

It was a picture of the captain and the chief medical officer kissing and the caption said that they just became engaged.

Marla deleted the message with a disgusted noise in the back of her throat.

This was ridiculous.

The captain was off sucking face with his boyfriend, instead of being here to do his job. He should be taking care of his duties, not romancing Doctor McCoy! The worst part was, if she pointed out how hypocritical that was she would get reamed out. God forbid you express any opinion different from the majority. How typical of Starfleet.

She turned a little bit from the corner and watched. Spock and Anderson seemed to be wrapping things up, which meant they’d be leaving soon. As she took a deep breath, they began to leave the brig. Anderson tapped the security officer who was posted by the door on the shoulder in a sign of solidarity. The officer smiled at him before going back to her reading.

Perfect.

Marla made her way over to the cell Spock and Anderson were just near. The man inside was laying on his cot with his eyes closed. She studied his features for a moment and her heart skipped a little. He was very handsome. She mentally sketched him in her mind, noting the angle of his nose and the shape of his brow.

Gathering up her nerves, she cleared her throat. “Excuse me, I’m sorry to disturb you.”

The man, de Maupassant she recalled, slowly opened his eyes and looked up at her. Quickly assuming the role of a gentleman, he stood and walked over to her, careful not to get too close to her. “I must admit, this is a surprise, although not an unwelcome one.” He smiled and she couldn’t help but notice how nice it looked on him, how sweet his eyes were. “I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage.”

“My name is Lieutenant Marla McGivers. I’m the ship historian on board the _Enterprise_.”

“Ah. I am Julien de Maupassant. Enchanté.” He bowed a little and she couldn’t help but blush in response. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

“I just wanted to make sure you were being treated okay, Monsieur de Maupassant.”

“Julien, please.”

“Julien?”

“Yes, if you do not mind,” his smile became wider. “Friends call each other by their given names, and I believe that you and I shall become good friends.”

Marla smiled back.

  
[Chapter One](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/28915.html) | [Chapter Three A](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/29219.html)


	3. To the End (La Comédie)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are cordially invited to the Starfleet social function of the year. That is, assuming these terrorists and the Enterprise Crew's own issues don't get in the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the kiss Jim and Bones had last chapter is supposed to look like [this](%E2%80%9Dhttp://www.history.com/images/media/slideshow/end-of-world-war-ii/kissing-the-war-goodbye.jpg%E2%80%9D). I’m sorry but I love that photo and I’m super happy to borrow it for this story.

_**Fic: To the End (La Comédie) 3a/7**_  
Title: To the End (La Comédie)  
Series: Star Trek XI (as if I write for anything else these days): [water park 'verse](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/21874.html)  
Rating: PG-13/R for some violence, swearing, and fade-to-black sexy stuff  
Summary: You are cordially invited to the Starfleet social function of the year. That is, assuming these terrorists and the Enterprise Crew's own issues don't get in the way.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to do with the characters featured in Star Trek or the Star Trek movie from 2009. No harm was meant, so put the lawyers away, man.

Chapter Notes: Yes, the kiss Jim and Bones had last chapter is supposed to look like [this](%E2%80%9Dhttp://www.history.com/images/media/slideshow/end-of-world-war-ii/kissing-the-war-goodbye.jpg%E2%80%9D). I’m sorry but I love that photo and I’m super happy to borrow it for this story.

Yes, [tumblr](%E2%80%9Dhttp://www.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D) still exists in the future. I mean the people in Starfleet have to get their macros from somewhere, don’t they?

Spot the X-Men reference, win a prize. The next big thing I’m going to write is a giant X-Men/Trek reboot fusion (hint: the Shi’ar are involved. Not the Brood, though, those things are fucking gross. Someone else can have that idea, or just write an _Aliens_ crossover since that’s what Claremont ~~ripped off~~ based the Brood on, because Jesus.)

I also realize that planning a huge wedding in two days is probably impossible but I’m handwaving it in that it’s the future and Starfleet has tons of financial resources and oh by the way there’s a _water park on the Enterprise_. Seriously, with fancy technology and a shitton of money, you can do just about anything.

 _Chush' sobach'ya_ means bullshit in Russian. Just, you know, so you’re not all going “wait what?”

The stipulation that people can’t give medical information out over communicator is a combination of something I noticed in TOS and current HIPAA laws. I realize that in TOS Bones always tells everyone everything to their faces because of Rule of Drama, but in real life you can’t give a person detailed test results over the phone because well...how do you know they’re who they say they are? Or rather I should say, they’re really not supposed to give it out over the phone. Generally they’re limited is what I’m getting at here. The Medical code about telling the Captain and the CMO something if it presents a danger to the rest of the crew I’ve completely pulled out of my ass, I mean if one of your crew members has a fever that could cause him to brutally murder someone else on your ship, you should probably know about that in advance, just saying. Or you know, the ebola virus or whatever.

Speaking of, my information about how neruotransmitters including serotonin work comes straight from the textbook “Exploring Psychology in Modules: Eighth Edition,” by David G. Meyers. I can’t say why that’s relevant until the big reveal, but if you look up a certain something that comes out in this chapter on Memory Alpha you’ll see why serotonin’s important. I am not a neuroscientist, but I am a psychology major so take that as you will.

I am neither clever nor awesome for naming the Starfleet military prison Foucault. I freely admit this. At least it’s not something as obvious as Alcatraz!

 _Eneh hwau' kllhwnia na imirrhlhhse_ is a Romulan obscenity. What’s the point of being a linguist if you can’t hurl epithets in other languages? Sadly, the Romulan dictionary does not specify what obscenity. I like to think it’s a truly colorful one, like “your mother was caught giving fellatio to a goat while her priest watched last Tuesday.” It’s probably obvious at this point that I don’t take much seriously. This includes my own fanfiction.

This chapter was split into two parts due to length. There is a link at the bottom to the second half.

  
The next morning, Jim woke up tangled up in the sheets and Bones’ arms. He blearily looked up at the ceiling for a moment before sitting up. Bones made a protesting sound before opening his eyes. Jim looked down at his fiancé.

Wow, that was going to take some getting used to.

Jim scrubbed a hand through his bedhead, which was sticking up in several directions on all sides.

“Okay. We are never celebrating with tequila shots again,” he said in a tone that brooked no argument. “My mouth is disgusting and my head is killing me.”

Bones snorted. “Whose idea was that again? Especially after I pointed out how I generally handle clear alcohol, which is to say there is vomiting involved, but no, you said just a few shots which turned into body shots which turned into...” His voice trailed off, and he began to smirk. “Well, we both know I’m not going to complain about that particular turn of events.”

“Better not,” Jim grumbled. “Out of the 273 times we’ve had sex, that was top five for sure.”

There was a long pause as Bones just stared at Jim in disbelief.

“What?”

“You’ve counted how many times we’ve had sex? Really?”

“273 includes everything but the times we simply stopped at making out. So like...blow jobs, and so on are in that number.” He looked at Bones with a confused expression. “Wait, you mean you don’t keep track?”

“Can’t say as I do,” Bones chirped. After all, honesty was important in a relationship.

His shoulders sagging a little, Jim kind-of sighed. “I guess I just...I’ve never really...I mean I’ve slept with people more than once but not like this. So I’ve been counting because it’s kind of a novelty to me, that I can do this so much with you and never get tired of you or bored.”

He smiled and his expression became more soft as a result. “I understand. Sorry if it seemed like I was making fun of you. I just...no one’s ever done that before so it surprised me.”

Smiling, Jim leaned in and kissed him. “It’s okay.” He grimaced. “God I need to brush my teeth like a hundred times.”

As he took his hands in his, Bones shook his head and laughed. “You’re fine,” he said as he kissed him again. Jim snorted into and they lingered together. Bones took this as encouragement and quickly deepened it, pressing him back into the mattress. As he shifted to slot him in between his legs, Jim sighed a little into Bones’ mouth.

Suddenly startled by something, Jim broke the kiss. “Wait, but, I have to be on the bridge in like,” he said as he squinted across the room to the chronometer. Huh, that was weird, he couldn’t focus on the time; for some reason, it was blurry. “Thirty minutes?”

“We’re on beta shift today,” Bones murmured as he sucked on a particular spot on Jim’s neck.

“Right, I forg...oh. Oh!” _Shit_ that felt good, and he groaned a little. “What’s gotten into you?”

This made him pull back and he looked down at Jim with a bemused expression. “We’re celebrating.”

“Yeah but we...wait.” Jim furrowed his brows. “So this is because we’re getting married? You’re jumping me because we’re getting hitched?”

He didn’t answer verbally, but he did flush a little.

“...Come to think of it, you always jump me when something has happened to us, an emotional something I mean. Or...wait is this part of the whole you showing me how you feel thing?”

The look on his face spoke volumes.

Jim sighed. “I’m an idiot.”

“You’re not,” Bones said in a reassuring tone. “Just sometimes, if it doesn’t involve running a starship or executing diplomacy on a first contact, you don’t pay as much attention as maybe someone else would.”

Jim felt his face go hot. “Now I feel like a gigantic asshole, so thanks for that.”

Bones frowned. “No, you...Jim, look.” He lightly grabbed Jim’s chin with one hand and forced him to meet his eyes. “I wouldn’t have you any other way. In fact, I love you more for it. Okay?”

He couldn’t help but relax a little at his words. “Okay. In that case, you may now resume molesting me.”

“Molesting implies that it’s not consensual,” Bones grumbled, but he did go back to kissing his neck.

“Oh no. Stop. Please,” Jim spoke in a monotone. “Better?”

“I take it back, you are an asshole,” Bones rumbled good-naturedly as he bit down a little, causing Jim to gasp loudly.

“274, I guess,” he whispered before Bones captured his lips again. Something occurred to him then and he froze before gently pushing him away. “Wait, I just...there’s something I meant to do yesterday and I need to...just let me...I promise I’ll be right back.”

He jumped out of bed, ignoring Bones’ exasperated expression, ran to the living room, grabbed his PADD, and came back to sit on the edge of the bed. He pulled up his email software.

That was weird, he couldn’t focus on that either. He could make out the words, but only if he squinted. He ignored a little voice in the back of his head that said that’d been happening more and more lately as he carefully began to type up a message.

“What’s wrong?”

“What?”

“You’re squinting,” Bones said with a touch of concern in his voice. “Why are you squinting?”

“‘I am not, I’m just focused.” He glanced up at Bones, who had his patented _don’t bullshit me, Jim_ face. He sighed. “Things are a bit blurry, is all. I’m fine, it’s probably just the hangover.”

Bones didn’t look entirely convinced, but he did stop giving him that look. Jim stuck out his tongue at him and went back to typing his message to Spock. A sharp pain in the side of his neck made him shout.

“Ow! Jesus, Bones what the hell?”

His fiancé shrugged and placed the hypospray back on the nightstand. “You said you’re hungover,” was his only explanation.

Jim grumbled about marrying bitchy doctors as he finished his memo. He cc’ed it to Uhura and hit send. “There,” he said with a grin. “Now where were we?”

Bones grinned back, and then there wasn’t much to say after that.

\------

Nyota Uhura had just finished pulling her hair up into its usual ponytail when her PADD beeped at her. She rolled her eyes.   
If someone reposted that picture of Jim and Leonard to tumblr one more time, she was going to scream. Yes, it was gorgeous. Yes, she was happy for them. Seriously though, everyone in Starfleet had to have seen it by now. People needed to get over it and move on with their lives.

The PADD beeped again.

She had also been forwarded the image directly about two dozen times. People needed to give it a rest.

The PADD beeped a third time, this time giving off the chime for an urgent message.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” she snapped to no one in particular. She stalked over to her and Spock’s desk, and touched the screen of the PADD to bring it out of its sleep mode. As predicted, there were new updates to the blogs she watched, and several messages with an attachment.

The most recent message, however, was from the captain and it was the one flagged as urgent. That was strange.

She opened it and as she skimmed it, her eyes widened a little.

2260.240

MEMORANDUM

From: Captain, USS Enterprise  
To: First Officer  
CC: Senior Communications Officer

Subject: Headaches

Spock, I know you said with meditation your headaches would go away, but I’m hereby ordering you to see Bones or Geoff in sickbay before your lunch break today. I know the threat of biological warfare has been ruled out, but I’m still concerned about your health since Vulcans pretty much never get headaches.

Uhura I’ve cc’ed you on this, because ignoring your health is damn illogical and I don’t think he gets that.

J.T. KIRK

What?

This didn’t make any sense, as Spock said he went to medical the night of the attack.

Unless...he didn’t go.

Why would he do that?

Moving more quickly than she normally would, she flipped open her communicator. “Lieutenant Uhura to medical wing, over.”

 _Lieutenant, this is Nurse Kowalski. What can I do for you?_

Nyota paused. On the one hand, she was going behind Spock’s back. On the other hand, he had lied to her. She wasn’t angry with him for it, not yet, but she had to get to the bottom of what was happening. “Nurse, can you verify for me that First Officer Spock came into medical for treatment on Stardate 2260.238?”

 _Hold please._

She waited patiently.

 _Negative, Lieutenant_ he said after a moment. _Nothing shows in the records about Mister Spock coming to medical the other night. I can only assume that he didn’t, because otherwise it would be documented._

She frowned. “I see. Thanks for your help.”

 _Not a problem. Anything else you need?_

“No, that’ll do. Lieutenant Uhura out.” She closed the communicator, terminating the connection.

So Spock _had_ lied. Why? What possible reason would he have to do that to her? She turned and looked towards the bathroom, where he was still getting ready for his shift. It was possible that he had a reason for doing so, which is why she was not angry with him.

However...she was definitely more than mildly concerned.

There were still ten minutes before they were due on the bridge. Best to just get it over with.

“Spock?”

“In a moment,” came his answer. Within seconds, he stepped out of their bathroom. “Yes?” Without a word, she handed the PADD over to him. It would have been imperceptible to anyone else, but she noticed the very small sag of his shoulders. “I see.”

She paused for a moment before speaking; she didn’t wish to sound accusatory. “Why didn’t you tell me you were still having headaches?”

“I did not wish to cause you concern,” he said in a soft tone. “I also thought, perhaps incorrectly, that meditation would fix my headache better than any medicine.” He looked sheepish, or rather as sheepish as he was capable of looking. “It did work for a few hours, but the effect was temporary. They seem to be most consistent; I have been unable to rid myself of them for any significant amount of time.”

“Then why not go to medical and take something? Why lie about going? That’s incredibly illogical, Spock, and unlike you.”

“I...,” he began and he appeared to be struggling. “I do not know how to explain, other than to say that this is a personal matter and should be handled by myself.”

Nyota shook her head a few times. “I don’t understand that, because we’re supposed to be in this together, Spock. I can’t be there if I don’t know I should be.”

He didn’t say anything in response, which she knew meant that he realized she was right. She sighed with a little frustration.

“You read the memo, so you know what you need to do. You should probably go ahead and go to medical first thing so Kirk doesn’t come after you for disobeying a direct order. We’ll talk more about this later.”

With that, she began to make her way to the bridge.

\-----

Hikaru Sulu stared up at the ceiling of his quarters.

True to her word, Christine came by after her shift was over last night to check up on him. They spent a little time together, just sitting together quietly. He read on his PADD and she did the same. It was nice, he loved the fact that he could spend time with her in silence like that. It was a rare gift.

He did ask her about the charts, though. She told him she said the wrong name, that Geoff was the one who asked her. She also said that it was their little secret from McCoy, since technically she wasn’t supposed to be allowed to do that.

He nodded and accepted her answer as truth. After all, she hadn’t ever lied to him before. Why would she start now?

When it was time for her to go, she told him she wouldn’t be able to have breakfast with him because of doing some studying in one of the rec rooms. She did, however, tell him about how she was glad to be meeting his parents over their break. He smiled and kissed her, and he said he’d see her after his shift ended that day.

Something kept nagging at him about what she said. He just couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

He was probably just being paranoid. So she made a mistake, it wasn’t a big deal.

He sat up, as he realized he had about thirty minutes before the start of beta shift. He really needed to get out of bed and get ready. After quickly getting up, he made his way out of his room towards the bathroom he shared with Pavel, who was already gone if the open door of his room was any indication.

Good.

He quickly used his sonic toothbrush and spit into the sink when he was done.

That conversation from the day before kept nagging at him too, although not out of anger like he would assume. He still wasn’t okay with Pavel and wasn’t sure he ever would be again, but he had to admit he was growing up. That apology proved it; Pavel from before would have rolled his eyes and grudgingly said sorry, he wouldn’t have offered it up freely.

He turned on the sonic shower and stepped inside.

On his lunch break, he’d use the computer to locate Christine and meet up with her he decided as he used the special shampoo to wash his hair. Letting the lather soak into his scalp a little, he stood under the “spray” to let the harmonics pulverize the dirt and impurities off his skin.

Maybe he’d bring her flowers from the botany lab. He hadn’t done that in a while, and she did love getting flowers. Perhaps some Vulcan-Terran hybrid roses would make her happy. He “rinsed” the soap out of his hair and powered the shower down.

Sometimes he was jealous of Kirk for having the only water shower on the ship. Maybe he could ask to use it sometime.

Quickly fixing his hair with his fingers, he pulled just his pajama pants on and went back into his bedroom. There was only ten minutes left to report to the bridge, so he needed to hurry. He changed and fixed his hair a second time.

So it was decided. He’d work, find Christine, give her the flowers, and spend the evening with her. Maybe they could spar, they hadn’t done that in a while.

Smiling to himself, he made his way up to the bridge.

\-----

As he towel-dried his hair, Bones hummed a little to himself. It was strange, albeit not unwelcome, how happy this whole marriage thing was making him feel. He was so unsure for most of yesterday, but the bottom line was how he felt. Jim would never hurt him, not on purpose or through callousness. He was also right; they already said they were in it to win it, so to speak. There was no reason why they couldn’t make things official.

He also had to admit that he was a little in love with the idea of Jim being Joanna’s stepfather. They hadn’t been around each other often, but Jo was fond of Jim and whenever Bones would chat with her Jim asked to say hello. The thought of their relationship growing stronger made him incredibly happy.

He dropped the towel on the floor and made his way to their closet. He picked one of his uniforms off a hanger, putting it over his shoulder as he made his way to the chest of drawers. It was short work to pick out an undershirt to go with it. He began to get dressed.

“Hey Bones,” Jim shouted from the shower. The rest of what he said was unintelligible from the noise of the water. Bones sighed. He finished pulling his pants on before padding into the bathroom.

“What was that?”

“I said, your comm’s going off. You left it on the counter,” Jim called as he finished rinsing out his hair. Bones glanced at the counter just next to the sink; sure enough, he had left it in here.

Most people at first glance would have assumed that Jim would be the messy one while Bones would be more fastidious. They learned pretty quickly when they roomed together at the academy that this was not the case. Bones not only had a habit of tossing his clothing wherever, he had a habit of leaving just about anything anywhere and then cursing a lot while trying to find it. Jim learned early on to keep tabs on his belongings for him, as he’d more often get distracted by reading a medical journal or studying and would forget where they were. In the year and three months they hadn’t lived together on the ship, Bones had gotten a bit better about doing such things. Not a lot, but a bit.

Jim would still grumble and complain when he’d leave his wet towels on the floor, though.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

He flipped the communicator open. “McCoy here, go ahead.”

 _Leonard, it’s Geoff,_ came the familiar voice. _We’ve got a bit of a situation here. I need you to come down to medical when you can. Jim too, if he’s with you._

“What’s wrong? Is everyone okay?”

There was a pause for a moment. Just as he was about to ask again, Geoff began to speak. _Everyone’s fine. I’m here with Mister Spock. The situation’s just a bit...delicate, so whenever you can._

Bones frowned. While he was somewhat familiar with Vulcan anatomy, Geoff was the one who had studied at the Vulcan Science Academy. If he was calling him down to talk to him about Spock instead of just treating him, there was a good chance it was severe. “Is he contagious?”

 _No, it’s nothing like that. I just can’t go into detail over the communicator. Like I said, whenever you guys can get down here, I’ve told him he can’t go anywhere until you show up._

“Right,” he answered. “We’ll be down in ten.”

 _Copy that, M’Benga out._ The line closed and Bones looked down at his hand for a moment. Dimly, he noticed the water shutting off. “Jim...?”

“I heard,” Jim replied as he slung his towel around his waist. “Good thing I ordered him to go down.”

“Is that what you were doing earlier? With the PADD?”

Jim nodded as he began to dry himself off. “Yeah. He complained about a headache yesterday, and he admitted he’d been having them for a few days. For some reason he refused to go to medical, so I made it an order.” He shrugged before he began to dry his hair. “Apparently, he’s the one person on this ship who’s worse about being sick than either of us.”

Bones snorted. There was a lot of truth in what Jim was saying, between him being a being bad patient and Jim’s belief that his will was stronger than any pathogen his body absorbed. Jim was finished drying and reached over to the toilet, where a neatly folded uniform sat.

“Must be serious if Geoff’s calling us,” he said as he slipped his boxer-briefs on.

“Yeah, must be. You said he’s been getting headaches?”

“Yeah,” his voice was muffled as he pulled his shirts over his head. “Said meditation was helping them, but only for a little while.”

“Huh,” Bones said. “There’s a few things that could be causing them. It might even be that he’s developing chronic migraines, which would explain why Geoff needs to see us. Medical code says we have to be notified if a patient develops a condition that could put other crew members at risk. The first officer not being able to see straight from a crippling headache qualifies.”

The captain nodded as he quickly finger-combed his hair into place. “That’s what I was afraid of, and why I ordered him down. Better safe than sorry.” He straightened the hem of his uniform shirt. “By the way, I got a message while you were in the shower. We have a meeting at 1500 with the wedding planner.”

With the what?

“Do what now?”

“Yeah, Madelyne Summers. I did a lot of research on the bridge yesterday, and her resume was the best out of all of our options. We’re lucky she was able to fit us in on such short notice. I like her ideas a lot, especially about using the Moon-Viewing area of the botanical gardens for the ceremony.”

Bones blinked several times. “The..botanical gardens?”

“Yeah, the weather’s so nice this time of year, I figure we may as well have it outside. This way there’s enough room for everyone we’re inviting, including the Admirals and Starfleet bigshots. I mean our families will get the front rows, of course, but there has to be enough room for Barnett and everyone.”

Again Bones found himself blinking several times.

“By the way, I realize Jo’s almost ten, but that’s not too old to be a flower girl right,” Jim tossed over his shoulder as he made his way back into their bedroom to put his boots on. Bones followed him with a bewildered expression.

“Uh, I don’t...see why she wouldn’t...”

“Great!” Jim looked up at him and smiled. “I didn’t think she’d mind, but I wanted to be sure before asking.” Having fastened the first boot, he moved onto the second. “I figure silver’s a good color, right? I want to avoid using, like, command gold, or something hokey like that. White flowers too, Madelyne sent me pictures of a lot of arrangements. I gave her my allergy list so they’re all safe, you won’t have to worry about carting around a bunch of hypos for me.” Jim looked up at him again and looked confused. “What’s wrong?”

“What?”

“You look stressed out, even for you,” Jim teased. “What’s wrong? You don’t want to have it outside, is that it? I mean I get it, weather can be unpredictable but this time of year we’re safe, I think.”

“No just...a big wedding? I thought we’d just go to the justice of the peace.”

It was Jim’s turn to look confused. “Why would we do that, especially when Starfleet’s footing the bill?”

“Starfleet’s what?” He felt like all he was doing was asking questions, but he had literally no idea what was going on.

“Yeah, I don’t know how Pike did it, but he got Starfleet to pay for our wedding. Something about using it as a diplomatic function. Whatever, they can write it off on their expenses and we get an awesome wedding for free.” He shrugged again. “It’s totally win-win. Anyways, 1500. Don’t be late, we’re just gonna have it in here.” He stood up, then promptly sat back down. “Wow you’re only half-dressed.” He reached out and handed Bones his shirts. “Come on, Bones, we can’t keep Geoff and Spock waiting.”

“I...” He honestly didn’t know what to say to...well, to anything. So he did the only thing that came to mind.

He finished getting dressed.

\-----

Pavel Chekov stood outside of the engineering department with a frown.

It was his rest day and he was at somewhat loose ends. He got up early and went to the gym to have a long run. After essentially doing a five-kilometer race, he went back to his quarters, showered, changed, and went to the mess hall for breakfast.

He was in a bit of a funk, but he wasn’t sure what else he could do about it.

For some reason, he felt like Scotty was blowing him off.

It was weird, and not all like him to be so sensitive. Scotty was probably the busiest person on the ship in terms of the sheer volume of work. Unlike everyone else, he was never really “off-duty,” because if something broke or a system went down, he had to be available to help take care of it. A big part of that was why Pavel spent so much time with him down in engineering; he knew that he was always guaranteed to find him, and the regular shift work he had was simple enough that he didn’t feel like he was taking him away from it.

But it was so weird for Scotty to not take his meals with him or let him hang out. They had spent every day together for almost four months straight, ever since Spock and Uhura’s engagement party. It just didn’t make sense that Scotty would blow him off.

He was probably just overreacting, although he still hesitated before the door.

Well there really was only one way to find out for certain. He would go in, ask Scotty to eat with him. If Scotty said sure, he would forget about the previous day and start fresh. If he hedged or made and excuse, he would ask him what was going on.

He exhaled loudly and pushed the entry button to the wing. Pavel quickly stepped inside and began to head down the narrow stairwell to Scotty’s workstation. The man in question was hard at work as always and he couldn’t help but smile a little as the familiar warmth spread throughout him.

“Hello,” he called ahead of him. “Scotty?”

Scotty’s back was to him, but he visibly froze when he heard his name. “Oh. Pavel. What...what are you doing here?”

“Came to see if I could keep you company,” he said. “As I usually do on my off time.”

Scotty wouldn’t turn around to look at him, which made Pavel frown. “That’s...not really a good idea. I’ve got a lot of work to do, and I really need to concentrate.”

He felt himself stiffen. Another excuse, then. “Has never bothered you before.”

The engineer sighed loudly. “Well, it will today. I just...I need to work.”

Not content to give up, Pavel sighed. Maybe he should try a different tactic. “When you are off then. Want to discuss plans with you we made for optic implants. Can even get McCoy to help us with them.”

“No, I can’t, Pavel.” He finally turned to face him then, and he did honestly look sorry. “I just can’t.”

So he _was_ being blown off. Why would Scotty do that?

“I see,” he said as he clenched his hands into fists. “Tell me then. When would be a good time?”

Averting his eyes to the floor, Scotty shrugged in response. “I’m not sure. Probably not until after the break.”

“ _Chush' sobach'ya_ ,” he snapped in response. “You never have problem with me being here before! You always make time for me, and now you say it’s too hard? Be honest with me, you just do not want to see me anymore!”

“Pavel, I...” Scotty shook his head. “I just...I don’t know...”

“Let me guess, it is because of my age. You think I am too young to associate with you. I’m not good enough for you because I am not yet even twenty!”

“Well, that...” Scotty swallowed. “I mean, it is a problem for me, but not for the reason that you---”

“Save it,” Pavel cut him off. “Everyone on this ship either hates me or believes me to be an underfoot child. Except you, thought you saw me as an equal. See now I was wrong for believing that.” He turned to make his way out of the room, and his eyes filled with angry tears.

“Pavel, wait,” Scotty called after him. Not wanting to hear anymore excuses or lies, Pavel began to run. He ran all the way out of the room to the turbo lift, and from there straight back to his quarters. Hikaru had already left for his shift, so he was alone.

Struggling to catch his breath, he flopped onto the couch on his stomach. He wouldn’t cry, Scotty didn’t deserve it. He would, however, mope angrily for a while.

“Computer, load media file Pavel-twelve,” he said in a dull voice. The first song on his angry playlist started and he sighed.

He just didn’t understand. Things were great just thirty-six hours ago. What happened to make Scotty change so rapidly? Was the thought of being with him that repulsive? Had he done something to make him change? Maybe it was the picnic, maybe that had been too much and scared him off.

Was he destined to ruin every important relationship he would ever have? Did he deserve friends and companionship that little?

Biting back a sob, he rolled over onto his back and squeezed his eyes closed.

It just wasn’t fair.

\-----

Spock sat on the edge of a biobed with a stiff back and blank expression.

Dr. M’Benga had taken his readings, and initially became confused. After recalibrating the tricorder, he took them a second time and became somewhat alarmed. He put the tricorder down and immediately called Dr. McCoy and the captain down.

To say that Spock was worried was an understatement.

The only logical thing he could come up with was that he had some sort of serious condition that was causing the headaches. He was running through a list of potential illnesses in his mind, but there were quite a few things that matched his particular symptoms. M’Benga said he would explain as soon as the captain and McCoy arrived, and that he would do so privately in McCoy’s office.  
 This also troubled Spock.

It had to be serious if he wouldn’t just tell him what it was. While not a medical officer, Spock was familiar with the medical code. The only reason why the captain and the CMO were being notified with him was that his condition threatened the others on board the _Enterprise_.

So he was contagious, then.

At that moment, Jim and McCoy entered the sick bay with serious looks on their faces. They quickly joined Spock at the biobed.

“How you holdin’ up, champ,” Jim asked with a smile. Spock gave him a confused expression.

“Champion? Is this a reference to our chess matches?”

“Ouch,” he responded with a wink. “Hit me where I live, why don’t you?”

“Leonard, Jim,” Geoff came over to them with a serious look on his face. “Let’s move to the office, shall we?”

Jim nodded and Leonard shrugged.

“If you think it’s necessary,” he answered. “Why not?”

“Unfortunately, it is,” the other doctor replied. “Come, I don’t want to keep Spock waiting any longer.”

Spock looked at him and Jim placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. For some reason, he felt his pulse speed up at this and his blood began to pound a little. He would think it was fascinating, but it made him mostly uncomfortable. He shrugged his shoulder out of his grip and began to follow M’Benga to the office. Jim followed him and soon all four of the men were inside.

“Have a seat,” M’Benga said and he gestured at Spock, who promptly sat down at one of the chairs in front of McCoy’s desk. The chief medical officer also took a seat at his desk. Everyone looked at Geoff, waiting for him to begin. “Okay. There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to come out with it. Spock’s in pon farr.”

Bones blinked a couple of times as Jim looked completely confused.

“I have no idea what that is,” he announced to no-one in particular.

Spock wasn’t doing much better. “I do not understand.”

“It’s like...” Geoff began, and he struggled with how to explain it. “The Vulcan mating cycle lasts for about seven years at a time. At the end of it, they go into a sort-of heat, called pon farr.” He focused his attention back on Spock. “You’re having your time, Spock. It began a couple of days ago, probably when your headaches started.” He smiled, although it was shaky.

“I know what it means,” the Vulcan answered. “I simply mean that my being in pon farr is illogical, if not outright improbable, as I have never been through it due to my half-human physiology.”

Although, if he was in pon farr that explained his illogical keeping of this ailment to himself.

“I see, well that explains why you didn’t recognize it. I admit I was a little confused as to why you were seeing me for mystery headaches when I took your readings.”

“I don’t understand what the headaches have to even do with this,” Jim asked.

“Well, basically, there’s not enough serotonin in his brain right now. Normally, serotonin is emitted by various neurons and the excess is reabsorbed through a process called reuptake. Right now, the reuptake is happening too often and too quickly; it’s leaving your serotonin levels completely out of whack, which is why you keep having the headaches. I can probably try giving you an SSRI for that at a low dosage; not enough to make it a habit but enough to slow the reuptake down and stabilize your chemistry to minimize your discomfort.”

“How long does this last, Geoff,” Bones asked from where he was sitting.

“Eight days, I’m estimating that he’s on day three. It kind of rises in severity until the eighth day and if it’s not resolved by then he could go into plak tow, which is essentially a severe blood fever. It’s extremely dangerous, which is why I had to tell you both about this.” The doctor looked down at Spock with an apologetic expression. “I know I’m generally not supposed to inform others about this...situation, but...”

“It was logical, given the potential effects,” Spock admitted. “If it is not resolved there could be severe consequences.”

“Right okay, but _how_ do we resolve this,” Jim asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I mean, can he just take something for it?”

“Unfortunately not,” Geoff answered. “There’s just not enough research into pon farr to make a viable medical therapy in the short time that we have. It’s a very close-kept secret among Vulcans, and they have their own ways of dealing with it. I’m willing to defer to their judgment out of respect for their culture.”

Bones nodded. “That makes sense. So what are the options?”

Geoff sighed. “Spock, have you and Lieutenant Uhura completed a Vulcan bonding ceremony? I know you’re recently engaged but I’m not aware of whether the two of you have...”

“No.”

Everyone stared at Spock.

“I’m sorry?”

“No, I will not be resolving this with Lieutenant Uhura. I am familiar enough with what can happen after seeing my mother recover from my father’s time. I will not be subjecting her to this.”

Now Jim was really confused. “I don’t understand, if it’s a mating thing why not just mate? I mean that seems to be the most...” Geoff held up a hand and he stopped talking.

“Mating during pon farr can become violent,” he explained. “I’ve only treated pon farr itself three times, but I’ve treated the injuries sustained during it much more frequently. Since Uhura’s a human and not another Vulcan, I can understand where he’s coming from. We’ll just toss that one out.”

Bones nodded. “Right. Is there anything else?”

“Well, there’s the kal-if-fee, which is basically a fight to the death. For obvious reasons, I think we can rule that one out as well.”

“No kidding,” Jim grumbled darkly. “Tell me there’s a third option.”

“Well,” Geoff began, thinking hard. “I did treat an elderly Vulcan whose bondmate had died a few months before. He managed to regulate it and purge the pon farr through extensive meditation. I can relieve him from duty until we get to Earth to take care of it. There’s a Vulcan healer in San Francisco not too far from the Presidio, I can refer you to her if you think you’ll need it.”

Spock nodded. “I am familiar with T’palla, as I have called upon her services in the past. For now, I think it best I go to my quarters and begin the meditation.”

“Before you go, let me give you some hyposprays of the SSRI I want you to take. If you find you’re going through them at more than two a day, come back down here and I’ll give you a higher dose.”

At this, Jim’s communicator beeped. He held up his finger at the others and stepped into a corner of the office. “Kirk here, go ahead,” he said in response.

 _Admiral Pike is on the line for you, sir. I have him on stand by in your ready room._

The captain nodded. “Good, I’ll be up in five. Kirk out.” He turned back to the rest of the people in the room. “Sorry, I’ve got to take this. Is there anything else?”

“Shouldn’t be, unless any of you have any questions.” Bones shook his head no and Spock just stared at him. “Then yeah, we’re all set.”

Spock nodded. He went to stand, and McCoy followed his example. Geoff smiled at him, a real one this time.

“I’ll get your meds together,” he said as he pat Spock on the arm and again his blood pulsed. “Guys this probably goes without saying, but what’s happening to Spock is...”

“A huge, flaming, giant secret,” Jim finished for him. “I got that when you said the Vulcans tend to keep this quiet.” He turned to his fiancé with a grin. “1500, Bones, don’t forget.” He made his way quickly out of the office without noticing the momentary look of disbelief on Bones’ face.

“Same as with any patient, confidentiality,” he agreed quietly to the other doctor. Geoff grinned at him.

“Glad we’re all on the same page. Come on, Spock, this won’t take long.”

Spock hesitated for a moment, but then followed him.

This was disturbing, to say the least. When he did not have his time at the onset of puberty, he and his family assumed that he would not ever have it due to being half human. Obviously, that assumption was erroneous, but that did not make him happy about this turn of events. There was nothing more that could be done than to treat it with the meditation.

The only thing to figure out now was how to explain to Nyota.

\-----

Jim was practically skipping as he made his way down to the brig.

First, that rat-bastard de Maupassant was going to be detained immediately at Foucault, the Starfleet-run federation prison located near Starfleet HQ. It would only be few weeks before he was due to stand trial for several counts of various serious offenses, including treason. He was being hung out to dry and Jim was _loving_ it.

Second, Pike agreed to officiate the wedding. He looked touched by the request and said yes with no hesitation.

Third, they would be on Earth tomorrow. They would dock and disembark the ship at 10:00, and then they were to meet with the wedding planner, scout the location for the reception, have the rehearsal dinner, and then the joint-bachelor party to close out the night. The day after that, he’d be married.

Yeah, there was absolutely not reason why he shouldn’t be in a good mood at that moment as he pushed the entry code to the brig. Jim whistled a little as he walked down the stairs to the cell area. Hearing movement ahead of him, he stopped.

“Hello,” he called. “Is someone there?”

The security officers standing near him both looked at him and shrugged. Jim shrugged back. He looked towards de Maupassant’s cell again and squinted in the dim lighting. No, he was just sitting on his cot looking bored.

He must have imagined it. Oh well.

He quickly made his way to the front of de Maupassant’s cell. He cleared his throat loudly.

“I wondered if you would come by again before tomorrow,” the man said in a pleasant tone.

Jim smiled. “Got some news for you, and I figured why not give it in person?”

Julien looked perplexed. Good, nice to have him off balance for once. “Such as?”

His smile became a grin. “You’ll be given over to military police custody before we disembark at 9:30 tomorrow morning. From there you’ll be detained in the Foucault facility until your trial begins the first week of September.”

“Ah,” he said as he brushed some lint off one of his sleeves. “Your Federation does love its kangaroo courts.”

The smile on Jim’s face froze a little. “Do I detect some sour grapes? Surely you aren’t surprised, considering the sheer amount of damage you’ve caused.”

When he spoke, he sounded neither resigned nor upset; he sounded as if he was commenting on something as simple as the weather. “I’m not surprised as hearing me goes against the very thing the Federation stands for: amassing allies and resources. We simply cannot have dissenting opinions in our would-be Utopia. It is simply the most efficient way of silencing me.”

Jim was frowning now. “You still think the Federation’s a sham.”

“I am not likely to change such a strong opinion due to a small setback,” Julien countered. “If anything, this only serves to prove me correct.”

“Of course it does,” Jim snapped. “You’ll believe whatever you want in order to have your way. So whatever, if it helps you sleep at night in prison for the rest of your life, by all means. Knock yourself out.” With that he turned and began to make his way back through the brig.

“Congratulations, by the way, on your engagement. The doctor is a fine figure of a man.”

That made Jim stop dead in his tracks. He slowly turned around. “Excuse me?”

Julien smiled. “Good of you to make him an honest one. The lives we all lead, you never know what may happen.” He paused for a moment, before adding, “The irony of a surgeon being injured is that so frequently he is usually the only one who can put himself back together.”

Jim stared at him in disbelief. “What the hell did you just say?”

The look on Julien’s face was one of surprise. “I simply said...”

“You’re threatening him?” Jim stormed back over. He got right up to the wall of the cell. “You really just went there?”

“I did no such thing, I merely stated the irony of a surgeon becoming wounded. I was not aware that is not allowed.”

“You’re lucky I don’t open this door right now and...”

“And what? Physically beat me? With what cause, your vaunted Article Fourteen?”

That made Jim cool down a bit. “What?”

“The same Article Fourteen that permitted you to destroy the _Botany Bay_ when you came across it?”

Nope, just like that he was enraged again. “That ship posed a threat not only to the _Enterprise_ , but to the entire Federation. Just like you’re so fond of saying, I did what I had to do!”

“Indeed, James, we all do what we have to do,” Julien said with sympathy, “even if we may not be happy about it. I am simply reminding you that an entity that permits the proverbial gloves to come off in such a manner is not entirely benevolent. That is all.” He sighed. “You have what you came for, I confess to not understanding why you are still here.”

Jim suddenly calmed himself. “No, actually, I just figured you out. You’re pushing my buttons because that’s all you’ve got. That’s why you keep attacking things and now you’ve resorted to threatening Bones. It’s because you have nothing else. I’ve taken everything from you, so you’re lashing out. You’re picking because _you’re a sore loser_.”

Julien began to laugh. “You really are worth your reputation, James. I am very impressed.”

“If your opinion mattered, I would thank you for saying so,” Jim said with a smirk. “As it doesn’t, I’ll be going now. Enjoy your cell, it’s a lot more comfortable than the ones in Foucault.” He turned and began to make his way out of the brig. Julien watched him go with a smile.  
 Several minutes passed and the two security guards did their half-hourly walk through. The Aehallh members did the usual shouting to them, but Julien as always simply said hello. One of them eyed him warily, but they turned and went back the other way to post themselves by the brig door.

“You can come back out now,” he whispered.

Marla popped up from her hiding spot behind the corner of the brig. She straightened the hem of her uniform skirt and took her place in front of his cell. “That was close, I didn’t realize it was the captain when he came in.”

“He apparently is fond of gloating. Perhaps he will think twice about doing so in the future, it is ...unseemly.”

“He doesn’t understand anything of subtlety, you saw the picture,” she snapped in a low voice.

“It seems that way.” He tilted his head at her and smiled. “Enough of him, he is nothing. We were talking of your family when he interrupted.”

“There’s not much more to tell,” she began. “I only entered Starfleet because my father wanted me to.”

“Oh?” He settled into a more comfortable sitting position on his cot. “Please. Elaborate.”

She knelt down on the floor. “I wanted to teach history, get my PhD. Daddy wanted me to follow in his footsteps though, so what I wanted didn’t matter.”

Julien made a sad noise in his throat. “That is a shame. History is very important, and teaching is perhaps the most noble of professions. I have always been fond of history myself.” He smiled again. “You would be a marvelous teacher, although perhaps your beauty would be a distraction for the students.”

Marla blushed to the roots of her hair. “You shouldn’t say things like that.”

“Am I being too forward? I do not see how I could not notice, and I admit in the short time we have known each other I have grown quite fond of you. Where I come from, we say such things to the people in our lives. It lets them know they are appreciated.”

“Appreciated,” she said with a note of awe in her voice. “It’s been so long since anyone’s made me feel that way.”

“Then I shall endeavor to say so more frequently,” he replied. “You are appreciated, by me if no one else.”

“Thank you,” she said. “You’re...I appreciate you as well.”

Julien looked quite pleased. “I thank you.”

“You’ve come to mean a lot to me in so short a time. Is that crazy?”

He shook his head. “No, I do not believe so.” He looked off into the distance for a moment, and his smile got an edge to it that she did not notice. “I do not believe so at all.”  


Chapter Two | [Chapter Three B](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/29624.html)


	4. Fic: To the End (La Comédie) 3b/7

_**Fic: To the End (La Comédie) 3b/7**_  
Part two of Chapter Three. Part One can be found [here]().

Jim walked into his quarters at 14:45 and began to make his way over to his desk.

“Good, I was hoping you’d come back early,” a voice said from the couch. Jim jumped where he stood.

“Jesus, Bones!”

“We need to talk,” Bones answered. “It’s about this whole wedding thing.”

“Well, we’re about to, Madelyne will be online in a few minutes,” Jim answered brightly. “She’s got a few restaurants for the reception, I’m thinking we’ll just do a set menu. Buffets are always questionable and...”

“Stop.” Bones held up both his hands. “Just...stop. This is my problem, right here.”

“You want a buffet?” Understandably, Jim was confused.

“No, I don’t give a shit about that. I’m talking about you barging ahead and not caring about what I want,” Bones snapped.

He looked at him and the expression on his face was both hurt and betrayed. “I don’t understand.”

“Jim you just...you decided for both of us that we’re having this huge wedding. You decided who was going to pay for it. You even decided on the location and Jo being in the wedding party. _You did all of this without ever once stopping to ask me what I wanted_.” The doctor raked one hand through his hair frustratedly. “I mean did it ever occur to you that since I’ve already been married I wouldn’t want all of this? That I’d want something quiet, just us and maybe our friends as witnesses?”

“Excuse the fuck out of me,” Jim snapped back. “This is something that I never thought I’d get to do, Bones, and we both know I don’t do things halfway! So now you’re telling me you don’t want to go through with this?”

“I didn’t say that, I’m saying you need to _talk to me_ about the wedding plans instead of just telling me what’s going to happen!”

The anger drained out of Jim at that and a concerned look crossed his face. “You really feel like I’ve been ordering you around?”

“Yes, I do,” Bones spat. “You hired a wedding planner without talking to me. You picked a location without talking to me. I bet you even asked Pike to officiate without asking me if I’d be okay with it.”

Jim grimaced. He sat on the edge of the desk with a guilty expression, causing Bones to loudly scoff.

“I knew it. I just...I goddamn knew it.” He started to pace around the room. “Just why am I even bothering to show up? You obviously don’t need me.”

“No Bones, I just...I’m sorry,” Jim pleaded. “I guess I got so excited to be doing this that I wasn’t thinking. That’s really unfair, and I’m so sorry. Like I said, I never thought I’d do this before I fell in love with you, and now that I get to I just...I want it to be right. Perfect, even.” He looked down at the floor. “None of that stuff matters if you’re unhappy. I’m sorry.”

Pretty much all the anger left Bones at that and he crossed the room to take Jim’s hands in his.

“Hey. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have attacked you just now. That was also unfair.” Jim still wouldn’t meet his gaze, so he took one hand and gently lifted his chin. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you, I should have asked what was going on, and I get that you’re excited, I really do. I know you better than to jump to the conclusion that you just don’t care. So I’m genuinely sorry for saying that.”

Jim didn’t say anything, but he did nuzzle into his throat. Bones let him and wrapped his arms around him.

“It’s okay,” he finally mumbled, and Bones relaxed. “I’ll ask from now on. Promise.”

“Okay,” he answered as he rubbed light circles on his back. “It’s okay.”

“Do you want me to tell Madelyne to change the location?”

Bones thought for a moment. “Nah. I like the botanical gardens, it’ll be nice there.”

Jim nodded and moved closer to him. “What about the colors? Silver and white okay or do you want something else?”

“They’re fine, that’ll look good,” Bones conceded.

Shifting so that his head was on his shoulder, Jim made a small _hm_ sound. “Dress uniforms or suits?”

“Suits,” Bones answered quickly. “I don’t want to get married as a captain and a lieutenant-commander, I want to get married as Jim and Bones.”

“That makes sense,” he answered. “Are you really okay with a big wedding?”

“If it’s what will make you happy, then it makes me happy.”

Jim finally began to smile at that. “Traditional vows or do we write our own?”

That was an easy one. “I’m not using the traditional ones again.”

“Writing our own it is. Although, are you really sure that’s a good idea?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

Jim _hm_ ed again. “Because how much better I am at public speaking than you. I don’t want you to feel like you look bad.”

The fuck?

“I beg your pardon. On the rare occasions I give them, my speeches get accolades.”

“Are you really saying yours are going to be better than mine?”

“That’s exactly what I’m getting at.” Bones poked Jim lightly in the side. “I’ll even go so far as to bet you that mine are better.”

“Oh yeah,” Jim said as he pulled back to face him. “Name the stakes.”

“Winner picks the song.”

The captain raised both of his eyebrows. “The song, like the one we dance to?”

“The very same.”

After thinking it over for a moment, Jim grinned. “You’re on,” he said as he nuzzled back into him. Bones grinned a bit in response.

“Hope you like Brad Paisely.”

Jim pulled back again. “You wouldn’t.”

The look on his face could only be described as _evil_. “You won’t know until it’s time.”

“Bastard.”

“I am, yeah.”

Before Jim could reply the whistle of the communicator sounded.

 _Bridge to Captain Kirk. Mrs. Summers is on the line for you. Would you like me to patch her through to your quarters?_

“Yes, that’d be great. Thanks, Uhura.” He looked at Bones. “You want to sit or...”

“I’ll stand, you sit.”

Jim nodded and he moved to take the chair. Bones stood behind him, leaning over him a little.

It was showtime.

\-----

“Okay, I admit I’m confused,” Nyota said from where she sat on the couch.

Spock stood before her with a somewhat strange expression. “About which part exactly?”

She gathered her thoughts for a moment, as she was unsure of how to phrase her question. “You’re essentially going into heat, and will do this again every seven years from here on out. There are only three ways to fix it. You can fight someone and...vanquish them, I suppose. You can meditate nearly constantly for the next five days. Or...we could have sex.” Uhura found herself shaking her head. “Seeing as we have sex fairly regularly,” she began and they both kind of marveled at the understatement, “I’m not understanding why we don’t just go with option C.”

“You have never witnessed the aftermath of pon farr. I have. It is not as simple as our normal...activities.”

“How so?” She was genuinely curious, tucking her legs up under her to get more comfortable.

“I...” Spock looked at a loss for a moment. He began to pace around the living room, which made her worried. Spock never paced. “My mother and father...it did not end well, each time it happened.”

That was vague.

“How so,” she repeated.

“She always required the use of a healer,” he said, beginning to elaborate.

“So it gets a little rough. That’s not that big of a deal, Spock, I’ve had rough before. I can take it.”

This made Spock freeze for a moment. While he was aware that Nyota had taken a few lovers before him, she had seldom made mention of them sexually. As he was never anything but gentle and considerate of her needs, he could only assume she was referring to one of those other men. A fact that was making the blood pound furiously within him, and he felt his skin turn incredibly hot.

The pon farr must have been progressing for him to become so irrational.

Shaking his head to clear it, he finally continued. “One time her shoulder was dislocated. Pon farr, by its very nature, can be extremely volatile. It is dangerous, for the Vulcan having it as they can go into the plak tow if not careful, and for his mate as the probability of injury is quite high indeed.”

“You think you’re going to hurt me,” Nyota answered. “Spock, we don’t know that you will. You’ve never done anything to suggest you would.”

“We also cannot rule it out,” he replied. “It is just as likely that I will become violent as it is not. I have never experienced this before to have a sample of how I may behave.” He began to pace. “There are simply too many unknown factors and I will not subject you to any sort of risk.”

“Maybe I’m not articulating properly,” she said as she stood. “I’m telling you that I understand there are risks involved. The risk is worth it to help you. Just...let me help you through this.”

“I do not agree,” Spock answered. “The third method, the extensive mediation, is the preferred method as it no chance of causing injury to either of us. I have been relieved of my duties to begin it, and Doctor M’Benga has given me medications to help ease my headaches.” He began to pull his blue tunic over his head. “I require the bedroom for the next two hours.”

As he began to make his way into the next room, Nyota shook her head.

“And if it doesn’t work?”

Spock hesitated before turning back to her. “As the captain is fond of saying, we do not know until we try.” He stepped all the way into the bedroom, and she could no longer see him.

Nyota narrowed her eyes at the doorway. She didn’t know which was more infuriating, his sudden treatment of her as if she was a porcelain doll or his stubborn refusal to see reason. She made a low, exasperated noise in the back of her throat.

“Eneh hwau' kllhwnia na imirrhlhhse,” she said to herself. As annoyed as she was, she did not wish to disturb Spock as he meditated. Best to leave the quarters all together. She checked the chronometer.

Fortunately, her lunch hour was almost up. She’d just go straight back to the bridge.

\-----

Hikaru Sulu stood inside his quarters after changing into his regular clothes, a bouquet of the aforementioned Vulcan-Terran rose hybrids in his hand.

“Computer, locate crew member Chapel, Christine.”

 _  
**Searching...located: recreation room, deck seven.**   
_

“Thanks,” he told the machine affectionately. To the rec room on deck seven he would go. He quickly stepped out into the hallway and into the turbo lift. It wasn’t long before he was at the appropriate level of the ship and he stepped off.

Hikaru whistled a bit as he kept walking, pausing only to push the entry code to the rec room. The door opened and he stepped inside. He took a long look around.

Riley was playing a console game in one corner. Ensign Colt was reading on a couch. Lieutenant Cohen and Lieutenant du Mais were looking at holos together and laughing.

No Christine.

Puzzled, he went over to the wall computer console. “Computer, locate crew member Chapel, Christine.

 _  
**Searching...located: recreation room, deck seven.**   
_

Except no.

No, she wasn’t in the rec room on deck seven.

Maybe it was just a glitch.

Most likely, it was just a glitch. Computers made mistakes sometimes, right?

“Computer, locate crew member Sulu, Hikaru.”

 _  
**Searching...located: recreation room, deck seven.**   
_

That was odd. Why was it working for him and not for her? It didn’t rule out a glitch, but it was incredibly strange.

He thought about asking a third time, but quickly talked himself out of it. Maybe he would just try her quarters. She said she was going to spend the day studying, and that was where she usually did her work. What did he have to lose? After all, her quarters were just on the next deck up.

Hikaru made his way back to the turbo lift and got off at the proper stop. He walked down the corridor, tracing the familiar path to her door. Without pushing the entry bell, he punched in her access code and stepped inside.

“Chris?”

No one was in the room. He checked her bathroom door; it was open, so she wasn’t using it.

He clenched his hand into a fist around the flowers, crushing the stems.

Okay so. She told him she would be in the rec room, and then was nowhere to be found. Then she wasn’t in her quarters. There were several other places on the ship he could check; he could check medical, he could go to the gym, or he could even try the mess hall.

None of that mattered, because now he had proof. Christine _had_ lied to him. This meant in all probability she had been lying about the charts too.

He threw the flowers to the ground angrily.

Why?

Why was she lying to him?

After a moment, he squashed that reasoning. It didn’t matter why, what mattered was that she was doing it at all. He _loved_ her, and she was lying to him.

What else was she lying to him about? What other secrets was she keeping?

Hikaru’s stomach tied itself up in knots. The worst part was that she knew how he felt about being lied to, about being deceived. He had explained it in depth after his falling out with Pavel.

And yet, she did it in spite of knowing this.

How could he trust her anymore?

He rubbed his hand down his face.

Hell, how could he even face her? How could even talk to her? He had to, he had to at least confront her, but he was so angry it was making him sick.

As he backed out of her room, he shut and relocked the door. He needed to do something, he was so angry he couldn’t see straight. He considered going to the gym and boxing.

Actually...that wasn’t a bad idea.

For the third time in as many minutes, he got on the turbo lift and went up to the deck that housed the gym. He didn’t care that he was in jeans and a sweater, he just needed to hit something. He walked right over to the punching bag, and without stretching or warming up, he began to wail on it.

The more he thought about it, the angrier and angrier he became. Little things began to come back to him, times when she begged off being with him. Perhaps not coincidentally, it was usually when they were on a planet. It sometimes happened for days at a time. Until now, he assumed that she just liked her space and so he gave it to her.

He kept hitting the bag, his hands starting to hurt a bit from the blows.

He was a fool. He was a complete and utter fool.

The only explanation he could come up with was that she was seeing someone else behind his back. The thought of being cheated on made him feel even worse and his hits became harder.

He kept punching and punching until his shirt was soaked with sweat and his hands were completely numb. His breathing was heavy and rapid.

His girlfriend was lying to him. Had probably always been lying to him.

Now the only question was...what could he do about it?

\-----

Marla finished pulling up the file on her PADD.

“There it is,” she said and she held the PADD up for Julien to see. “I had to go in through a back door using phaser repair requests, but I did it.”

“This is very impressive,” he said as he read over the information. “You are certain you won’t get caught?”

She shook her head a few times. “No, had I done something more obvious like gone straight into security they’d have picked up on it. This way, you’ve got about thirty-six hours before they notice. That’s plenty of time.”

“Indeed,” he agreed with a note of awe in his voice. “I hate to ask, but I require another favor.”

“You need me to get the word out for you,” she said with a smile.

“Just one message, he will do the rest.” Folding his hands in front of him, he bowed a little. “I promise I will give you anything in return.”

“Anything?” She smiled at him, and it was coy.

“Anything. I am nothing if not a man of my word.”

Marla seemed to consider what he was saying for a moment. “It’s true, you’ve been nothing but honorable. It’s a rare thing to see, after dealing with these people.”

“I can imagine,” he said with a nod. “Here, before the guards come. I will give you the address and you can hide to deliver the message.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Marla said with a grin.  
[Chapter 3A](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/29219.html) | Chapter 4A


	5. To the End (La Comédie)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are cordially invited to the Starfleet social function of the year. That is, assuming these terrorists and the Enterprise Crew's own issues don't get in the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized that somehow I had never written a scene with the classic trio being all...classic trio-ey with each other. Lots of Jim and Bones interaction, some Spock and Bones interaction, and a fair amount of Jim and Spock interaction. Nothing with the three of them _together_. Consider this rectified!

_**Fic: To the End (La Comédie) 4a/7**_  
Title: To the End (La Comédie)  
Series: Star Trek XI (as if I write for anything else these days): [water park 'verse](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/21874.html)  
Rating: PG-13/R for some violence, swearing, and fade-to-black sexy stuff  
Summary: You are cordially invited to the Starfleet social function of the year. That is, assuming these terrorists and the Enterprise Crew's own issues don't get in the way.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to do with the characters featured in Star Trek or the Star Trek movie from 2009. No harm was meant, so put the lawyers away, man.

Chapter Notes:I realized that somehow I had never written a scene with the classic trio being all...classic trio-ey with each other. Lots of Jim and Bones interaction, some Spock and Bones interaction, and a fair amount of Jim and Spock interaction. Nothing with the three of them _together_. Consider this rectified!

Writing a practically ten year old is fucking hard, by the way. It was so much easier to write Jo when she was all eight and smuggled on board a ship during her dad’s birthday. My bad for letting her grow up, I guess. JOANNA MCCOY WHY ARE YOU NOT FROZEN IN CARBONITE YOU GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT DON’T FORGET TO CLEAN YOUR ROOM. Also Jocelyn will be played by [Kelly Rutherford](http://www.tvrage.com/person/id-22658/Kelly+Rutherford) aka Lily Rhodes-van der Woodsen-Bass-Humphrey. She’s only slightly older than Karl Urban so I figure it’s believable they were married and had a kid together. Plus she’s just kind of generally amazing and was born in Kentucky! There is a method to my fantasy casting.

Speaking of fantasy casting, [Dianna Agron](http://www.askmen.com/celebs/women/actress/dianna-agron/) is my Janice Rand. She has enough hair for the elaborate hairstyles, she’s spunky and able to have a bit of an edge, and she’d totally pull off being a hyper-competent Girl Friday. I think it’s a pretty good match and it goes with my whole “Sulu likes leggy blondes” theory. And yes, before anyone asks, sometimes I do read Kirk/Sulu. Mostly when it’s written by [](http://maypirate.livejournal.com/profile)[**maypirate**](http://maypirate.livejournal.com/)!

Atmosphere is actually a real place in San Francisco, it has yelp reviews and everything. Although currently it is simply a dance club, I figure someone buys it or whatever in the next 200 years and there we go, Starfleet friendly strip club with strippers from every race ever, even Tellarite if you’re into that kind of thing. Related: am I the only person disturbed by the fact that yelp reviews _strip clubs_? Because they do, if you’re curious. Right, moving on.

Once again, this chapter has been split into two parts due to length. The link for part two is at the bottom of this section.

Jim was practically giddy the next morning as he watched the _Enterprise_ begin to slide into space dock above Earth’s atmosphere. All his bags were packed, he and Bones were ready to disembark, check into their hotel, and begin the long day of planning, tasting, fittings, and greeting people. All of their friends knew where to be at 1700 for the rehearsal dinner.

There was one thing they were doing that made Jim somewhat nervous, which was having lunch with Jo.

And Jocelyn.

He sighed inwardly to himself. Admittedly, he was not looking forward to that. He didn’t know much about the woman, not even what she looked like. What he did know was that she took everything from Bones, and she gave birth to Jo. As much as he adored Jo, and he really, truly did, the former was easily winning out in his perceptions of her. He was picturing some kind of horrible harpy-like beast woman with blonde hair because Jo obviously didn’t get that from her father.

Oh well, he’d worry about it later. His main concern at the moment was getting de Maupassant and his ilk into Starfleet custody before overseeing the crew’s mass exodus. According to protocol, he, Bones, and Scotty would be the last three off the ship.

“Moorings attaching, Captain, engines being brought down to four percent...three...two...” Sulu sounded really uptight for some reason. There was a faint sound as the ship clicked itself into place. “Engines off, we’re docked.”

“Perfect as always, Sulu,” Jim said with a grin. The pilot didn’t really even acknowledge his words, he just kind of glared at the view screen. Chekov glanced sidelong at Sulu for a moment with a worried frown. He began to open his mouth but closed it quickly, almost as if he forgot that they were no longer on speaking terms.

Well, Sulu was reasonable. Whatever it was that was bothering him, he’d get over it pretty quickly. He didn’t hold grudges like other people did. It was a bit troubling though, as he generally didn’t get so angry. In fact, the only time Jim had even seen him raise his voice was at Chekov because of that whole mess with the computer hacking.

Jim stood from his chair, straightening the hem of his tunic. “Uhura, you have the conn. If I’m not back in time, begin the standard disembarking procedures. I’ve got some douchebags to turn over.”

“Aye, sir.”

With a smile, Jim nodded to her and stepped off the bridge and onto the turbo lift. He pushed the button for the shuttle bay and rode it silently. When he arrived, he stepped off to where he was greeted by Anderson aka Cupcake, a long with a dozen red shirts herding the prisoners. Julien was still kept somewhat separate from the rest of his followers, and he was in stronger restraints than they were.

He was also surprised to see Spock and Bones waiting as well. Bones had his arms crossed and was watching them all with a frown. Spock looked a bit flushed and his hands were folded behind his back.

“Aren’t you supposed to be meditating,” Jim asked quietly. Spock merely shrugged.

“I came to make certain that de Maupassant and the Aehallh do not try anything untoward,” he replied. “The mediation appears to be helping, and I have an appointment with the healer when we arrive in San Francisco.”

“Right,” he said. He then turned to Bones. “So why are you here?”

“Wanted to see it for myself,” he answered with a shrug. “You know me, unless I witness it, I’m not satisfied.”

This was true.

“That is illogical,” Spock began and Bones rolled his eyes. “A philosophy such as that implies that you do not believe in things that are not guaranteed, and the only way for them to be such is by your physically witnessing the events. Yet much of your profession is based on taking chances.”

Jim bit back his smile.

“There’s a difference between making an educated guess based off a patient’s chart and blindly accepting things that you’re told as facts.” The doctor had a scowl on his face and was glaring at Spock. “You’re a scientist for God’s sake, you know this.”

“The difference is that I do not call my hypotheses ‘leaps of faith’ as you do. You even refer to several of the decisions the captain makes as such. If they are truly leaps of faith, then there is nothing educated about them.”

“Now see here, you green-blooded hobgoblin,” Bones snapped. “There’s a difference between arguing semantics and arguing about what I actually do. Which is it?”

Spock opened his mouth to retort, but he was cut off by Jim clapping his hands loudly once.

“Guys,” Jim admonished. “Really? You’re doing this here?” He pointed at the prisoners and security staff, who were watching the two of them with undisguised interest.

Spock’s expression didn’t change but his posture did become less stiff. Bones gave Jim an apologetic smile.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly.

Jim grinned back. “It’s okay, just you know...later.” He glanced around the bay for a moment before seeing de Maupassant. “Excuse me,” he said and he sauntered over to the terrorist leader. Julien looked up at his approach and eyed him somewhat warily.

“Coming to gloat again?” He straightened his posture. “It is unbecoming of a man of your station.”

“Oh I can make exceptions for extenuating circumstances,” Jim chirped back. “An occasion like today counts, I think.”

There was a long pause as the two men sized one another up. It took Jim a bit by surprise when a smile began to form on Julien’s face.

“I won’t be going away for long, James,” he finally said. “I will be back, and we shall meet again.”

“The only place we’ll meet again is a courtroom if they decide to use me as a material witness,” Jim said with a smile of his own. “You’re going away, de Maupassant. You’d do well to start getting used to that.”

“If you insist.”

 **  
_Shuttle Galileo ready for boarding. Please begin loading the prisoners, as it’s time to go. Repeat: Galileo is ready to board._   
**

One by one, the prisoners were escorted to the shuttle doors and led onto the ship. Cupcake and his men wore stony expressions, as did Spock and Bones from where they stood. Jim grinned at Julien.

“Have fun,” he said brightly as two security officers came to lead him to the _Galileo_. Julien smiled back, before fixing his gaze on Spock and Bones.

“There’s no doubt I will,” he answered. With that, he was gone. Jim blinked a few times, a disquieted look forming on his face.

A hand fell on his back and he looked into Bones’ eyes.

“Everything okay?”

“That’s the second time he’s done that,” Jim said quietly. “He made a veiled threat about you yesterday, and now there’s what he just said while staring at you.”

“There’s not much he can do while in Starfleet custody. They’re going to lock him up and throw away the key,” Bones said reassuringly. He just shrugged.

“Yeah I guess, I just...” He shook his head. Spock had come over now and tilted his head to one side.

“Doctor McCoy is correct,” he said. “He is on a shuttle with several guards, and once it lands on Earth he will be taken into police custody and escorted to Foucault. There is little logical reason to suspect that anything will transpire from this point out.”

“It’s not logic, it’s a hunch,” Jim replied. “I just...he’s still going down way too easy.”

Bones’ hand began to move in light circles on his back. “I understand, Jim, but you’ve got other things to focus on right now. Worry about that asshole if something happens. Don’t let it eat you.”

Jim nodded. “No, you’re right. We’ve got a big day ahead, I need to be ready for that. Come on, let’s get out of the bay so they can open the doors and let these assholes out.”

The trio made their way out of the shuttle bay just as the warning lights began to flash, signaling the opening of the main doors. Jim paused for a second and watched the shuttle’s engines begin to warm up.

“Don’t let the door hit you,” he mumbled to himself.

\-----

People kept leaving the _Enterprise_ in shifts, until finally the senior most crew members were left.

Christine adjusted her bag on her shoulder as she stood talking to Geoff. As they spoke, she kept an eye out for Hikaru. They were supposed to meet up with his parents for a late lunch before the rehearsal dinner and she had to admit, she was nervous. It was the first time she would ever meet Ken and Mimi Sulu, and she wanted to make a good impression.

For some reason Hikaru hadn’t messaged her the day before, and that concerned her too. Granted, she was occupied by sneaking to engineering to send her intelligence reports to Pike, but still he normally at least sent a ‘hello’ or ‘thinking of you’ message.

She sighed. Most likely, she was being paranoid. He probably had a lot of things to do himself to prepare for their two weeks off.

Pavel Chekov walked past her with earbuds in his ears. She curiously watched him go. He sat his duffle-bag down on the ground and took a seat with a dour expression.

While she was furious when she found out who was behind those mishaps with her schedule and the medical bay, over time her anger had receded somewhat. She grudgingly had to admit he had a point. He wasn’t right for what he did by any stretch of the imagination, but she had stolen his best friend. Admittedly that was never her intent, but Hikaru admitted he stopped spending time with him to be with her. That wasn’t right either.

Still though, if the little Russian ever messed with her again she’d kill him with her bare hands.

Nyota walked past her then, with a bag over one shoulder. She too had an unhappy look on her face, although her eyes lit up when she saw Pavel. She quickly went over and asked in Russian if she could sit next to him. He chirped back a quick yes as he pulled out one of his earbuds so they could talk.

That was strange, why wasn’t she waiting for Spock?

She filed that away for later and gave another look around for her boyfriend.

Scotty was disembarking later, as were Leonard and the captain. The only people missing were Spock and Hikaru.

At that moment, the Vulcan appeared with his belongings. He glanced around looking for Nyota; when he saw who she was sitting with, anger and jealousy crossed his features for a moment. He was also heavily flushed.

Nyota was laughing at something with Pavel, as they were still conversing in Russian. Christine thought she heard them say something about Leonard but she was admittedly rusty at that particular language. Narrowing her eyes a little, Christine watched Spock not-quite storm over to her other side. He stood, pointedly waiting for her to acknowledge him.

Nyota did finally look up and she immediately stopped laughing. She moved over closer to Pavel to give Spock room to sit. Spock gave her what could only be described as a withering stare before taking a seat. He pulled a hypospray out of his pocket and injected himself quickly in the neck. Okay, so he was sick, and apparently was fighting with Nyota.

Christine turned back around and watched the shuttle door. Hikaru was the only one left missing, and she waited patiently. She didn’t want to sit until he arrived.

With that, he finally appeared, his duffle bag slung over one shoulder almost casually. She smiled at him. He looked at her, and his expression became cold.

Wait, what was that about?

“Hikaru, there you are,” she said as she made her way to him. “I was worried you weren’t going to make it on.”

“Oh yeah? Well, that makes two of us,” he snapped in a low voice.

Chris recoiled a little. “What is that supposed to mean?”

He looked at her for a moment, as if he was trying to decide on what he was going to say. “Where were you yesterday?”

Shit.

She forced a smile onto her face. “I told you I’d be studying all day.”

“Oh yeah? Where, exactly, did you do this studying,” he asked as he dropped his bag to the ground. “Because I checked the computer, and you weren’t where it said you were. So then I checked your quarters, and you weren’t there either. So please enlighten me, where did you study?”

Oh, shit.

“Hikaru, I...” She stopped, because she wasn’t sure how to continue. It wasn’t like she could tell him what she was doing, but he was obviously angry. “I don’t know how to explain, I can’t really talk about this right now.”

Or, you know, at all. Maybe if she bought some time, she could come up with a plausible story.

“You lied to me, Christine. God only knows what else you’ve been lying to me about, and you really expect me to be able to just let this go until you feel like talking about it?” He scoffed at her. “You’re unbelievable.”

Starting to lose it a little, she shook her head. “I just told you, I can’t do this right now.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

Christ hesitated again; she could feel that everyone else was staring. She was also really hurt that he was so quick to believe the worst about her. She couldn’t keep the pain out of her voice as she said, “I work in Starfleet. What do you think?”

That was apparently the wrong thing to say going by the almost rage on his face. “What does that have to do with it? We all work in Starfleet and I don’t lie to you about where I’ll be!”

“I can’t tell you more than I have,” she said in a pleading tone. “If there was anyway I could, I would. You know I would.”

Hikaru shook his head. “I don’t know what I know right now except the fact that you’ve been lying to me. You _know_ how I feel about lying, Chris, you know that, and you keep doing it right to my face. How am I supposed to believe anything you have to say?”

Taking a deep breath, Christine drew herself up to her full height. “You know what? Fine. Think what you like, you’re going to no matter what.” With that, she spun on her heel and took a seat towards the front of the shuttlecraft alone.

Everyone else in the shuttle was completely silent; some of them were staring at her, while others were staring at Hikaru. She crossed her arms over her chest to keep her hands from shaking. Eventually, someone sat down next to her. She looked up; it was Geoff.

“You okay?”

She shook her head no.

Geoff frowned. “Here.” He put an arm around her shoulders like an older brother would. It was a little awkward, but she eventually relaxed into it. It suddenly occurred to her that lunch with Hikaru’s family wasn’t happening. She bit her bottom lip and leaned more into Geoff to try to keep it together. He didn’t say anything, he just tightened his arm across her shoulders.

 **  
_Attention, this is your pilot speaking. Please fasten your harnesses and prepare for launch. Your estimated flight time today is one hour, thirteen minutes._   
**

With that, everyone fastened their harnesses and sat straight up in their seats. The engines rumbled to life and they were on their way.

\-----

Jim Kirk stood in front of a coffee shop with his hands in his pockets. He kept kind of wringing them around in them to wipe the sweat off his palms.

Everything so far was going according to schedule. They met with Madelyne, who checked them into their hotel when they got to the city. Bones had been surprised by the fact that he and Jim had separate rooms. Once Jim explained how he wanted to do the whole “not seeing each other before the wedding” thing the next day, he agreed.

He did grumble a bit about how he was ever going to get any sleep without him though, which made Jim kiss him with a smile.

The rehearsal dinner was all set for that night, as was the joint bachelor party. When asked about the logic of having their party together but not sleeping together, Jim simply responded that it was how they woke that mattered leaving Bones with no room for argument.

Bones stepped out of the coffee shop, lattes in his hands and sunglasses on his face. Jim found himself smiling at him as he passed one to him.

“Better?”

“Those damn shuttle rides,” he groused. “I still don’t understand how those things are supposed to be safe.”

Jim reached out a hand and Bones took it. “I know, Bones.” Something about the shuttle ride occurred to him then and he figured he may as well ask. “Did Scotty seem out of sorts to you?”

“Do you mean for him or compared to a normal person?” They stopped at an intersection, waiting for their turn to cross.

“For him, obviously,” Jim said with an eye-roll. “He hardly said anything the whole way.”

“He’s been working nonstop, he’s probably just tired,” he said as they began to cross the street. “Although, that big revelation he had about Chekov may be screwing him up.”

Jim looked at him with a curious expression. “How do you mean?”

Bones looked at him as he took a sip of his coffee. “Remember how I reacted?”

“Yeah, but that’s different,” the captain said as he shook his head. They were starting to near their destination and he tried to ignore the bundle of nerves in his stomach. “You didn’t have feelings for me that first night and I ambushed you. He already had the feelings before we told him.”

“A, I don’t think that’s accurate about me, and B, it’s still not an easy thing to realize. For all I know, he’s flipping out about their age difference.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, he is eighteen years older than him, that’s a big gap. Although Chekov is clearly the mature one in that relationship.”

“No, I mean...well no, that’s a good point, and also slightly disturbing because it’s true. I gotta say, I’m surprised to hear you admit something positive about Chekov. I thought you hated him after what happened.” Jim took a long drink of his latte. He had forgotten how good real coffee was, no wonder Bones insisted on stopping for it.

Bones shrugged. “I don’t really know that I can trust the kid, although to his credit he hasn’t tried anything since. I just know they obviously make each other happy. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”

“Right.” Jim considered this for a moment; what Bones was saying made sense. There was still one thing, however. “So. You had feelings for me?”

“Oh that.” They were stopped at another intersection, and the butterflies were getting even stronger. Man, he hoped he didn’t throw up all over Jocelyn or something. “Well, on some level I had to have, it was way too easy for you.”

Jim laughed. “Your subconscious caught on before you did, is that it?”

“Something like that,” Bones retorted with a grin. They crossed again, and Jim could make out the park they were heading towards a little in the distance. He swallowed loudly. This did not escape Bones’ notice and he looked at him sideways. “You okay?”

“What? Yeah, yeah I just...” He exhaled loudly. “I just...it’s her, is all.”

Bones stopped walking, and he tugged on Jim’s hand to get him to do the same. “Are you really worried about impressing my ex-wife?”

He was worried Bones would see her and suddenly think marrying him was a huge mistake. Opting not to say this out loud, as he knew it was both completely unfounded and batshit insane, Jim shook his head. “Not so much impressing. More like I just...I don’t know anything except her name and that she left you for your now-former best friend.” Something struck him then and his face got a panicked expression. “Shit, she’s not bringing him is she?”

“No. We agreed that all that would do is drudge up bad blood. It’s just her and Jo, since Jo’s still a little too young to travel by herself.” They began to walk again, pausing just so Bones could throw his cup into a nearby recycler. Jim made a _hm_ sound as he sipped on his own drink.

They reached the entrance of the park, and Jim’s hands were really sweating. There was a statue they were meeting them at, only a little ways into it. Jim finished his coffee and found a recycler to toss it into. He looked up at the sky for a moment; it was blue and full of fluffy white clouds.

It really was good to be home. He took a long, deep breath of the air around him. They found the statue and stood beneath it. Obviously, Jocelyn and Joanna hadn’t made it yet.

“You were right, you know, about the weather I mean,” Bones said after a moment. “If tomorrow’s anything like today, it’s going to be a hell of a ceremony.”

Jim favored him with a bright smile. “It’s going to be a hell of a ceremony period.” He leaned in closer and Bones met him halfway. They kissed in the shade for a long while.

“That better be Jim,” a female voice said from seemingly out of nowhere. Jim’s eyes opened wide and he immediately backed off with a startled expression on his face. Bones was giving a nonchalant look in the direction of the voice.

“‘Lo, Joce,” he said with a half-smile. Jim gave him a curious look.

Joce?

There she was, standing with Jo. Jim blinked and stared at her for a minute.

She was tall and thin but not too much so. Her hair was long and a slightly darker shade of blonde than her daughter’s. They had the same cheekbones, but Jo clearly had Bones’ eyes as Jocelyn’s were a dark brown color. She was well-dressed, in a blue silk blouse and a pair of jeans. A pair of sunglasses were perched on top of her bangs.

She was gorgeous.

“Len,” she responded with a slight incline of her head, and the nickname made Jim frown a little. Jo brightened considerably at the sight of them.

“Daddy! Uncle Jim!” She ran right up to and into Bones’ arms. He _oof_ ed as she collided with him, and after he recovered he looked down and ruffled her hair.

“Hey there, baby girl, did you and your mother have a good flight?”

For some reason at the words _baby girl_ , Jo huffed. “Daddy, I’m almost ten. I’m not a ‘baby girl’ anymore.”

Bones raised an eyebrow and proceeded to give Jocelyn a pointed look. She promptly held up both of her hands.

“Don’t look at me,” she said quickly, “you should hear the battles I have with her about everything.”

Jo frowned. “I’m standing right here, Mom.”

Jim couldn’t help but snort as Bones gave Jocelyn an apologetic look. She smiled back at him and waved a hand, clearly not worried about it in the slightest. Jo let go of Bones and turned to give Jim a big hug as well.

“Hey Jojopies,” he said with a grin. “You excited about tomorrow?”

“Mostly,” she admitted. “Although...do I have to be a flower _girl_?”

Jim looked at Bones for a moment. “Well, what would you rather be? We can’t call you a bridesmaid because there’s no bride to speak of.”

She thought really hard for a moment. “Flower maiden!”

Jim looked at Bones, who nodded. “We’re okay with it, so that’s what you’ll be.”

“Okay!” She grinned up at them, before moving back to Bones’ side. “Where are we going for lunch? Is it fancy?”

“Kind of,” Bones answered as the two of them began to walk towards the park gate. “Come on, Jim,” he tossed over his shoulder.

Jocelyn looked at Bones for a moment. “We’ll catch up in a second.” She turned back to Jim. “Right?” He eyed her with a wary expression.

“Sure. Yeah we’ll be along in a sec, Bones.” Jocelyn raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment on his nickname, reacting the same way he did to ‘Len’. Bones nodded at both of them and kept walking with Jo, who was talking a mile a minute. Jim watched them with a fond smile before turning his attention to her.

“I’ve got to admit, you look taller on the vids.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that,” he said half-bitterly. They began to catch up to the others.

They walked in awkward silence for a time, neither of them quite knowing what to say to the other. Everything he kept coming up with was unnecessary, rude, or just plain stupid.

Finally, Jocelyn broke the silence. “You don’t like me very much, do you?”

Jim looked at her over the top of his sunglasses. Obviously, brutal honesty was something she and Bones shared. “I don’t know you well enough to know if I like you,” he began, “but from what I do know...not so much.”

She nodded as she pulled her own glasses back down over her eyes. “Len’s not told you much about the marriage, then.”

He felt himself grow defensive. “He’s told me enough.”

Jocelyn didn’t do anything except sigh loudly. “Look,” she said as she held out an arm to stop him, “I don’t blame you for feeling the way you do. No matter how bad things were between Len and I, and believe me they were _bad_ , I shouldn’t have done what I did.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” he couldn’t help but add. She glared at him that time.

“It’s not like I’m not sorry I hurt him that way, you know. Believe me I know that now that there’s been distance, and if there’s anything I regret it’s that. There was enough stress on him, I didn’t need to add to it.”

He folded his arms across his chest. “But...?”

“But it takes two people to make a marriage fall apart,” she finished. “You know him, probably even better than me. So you know how he can be, and it wasn’t as if we talked much to each other about our problems.” Jocelyn took a deep breath before continuing. “Len and I were never right for each other, and instead of admitting our mistake we held onto something that wasn’t there.”

Jim looked at her for a long while. When he finally spoke, it was the first thing that came to mind.

“This is a really awkward first conversation.”

Surprised, Jocelyn simply barked out a laugh.

“It is,” she admitted.

“But I guess it was bound to happen,” he went on to say. “I’m not worried about us, Bones and I...we talk about things. Everything. We did even before we got together.” A smile formed on his face. “It’s part of why I love him.”

Jocelyn nodded. “Well, that’s most of the battle right there then. You should be fine.” They started to walk again; there was still some awkwardness, but Jim felt like perhaps they had come to an understanding of a sort. Bones and Jo were just up ahead waiting by the front door of the restaurant, and he was smiling at something his daughter was saying to him. Jim couldn’t help but watch as his heart skipped a little at the sight.

“So tell me,” Jocelyn said, and he turned his attention back to her, “Len still leave his clothes all over the place?”

It was Jim’s turn to bark out a surprised laugh. “You have no idea.”

“I’m pretty sure I do.”

“Pretty sure you do what,” Bones asked as he eyed the two of them.

They looked at each other for a moment. “Pretty sure I know all about the way you put your clothes away, or rather, the way you don’t.”

Bones gave both of them an exasperated look. “Not five minutes into knowing each other and you’re already bonding,” he grumbled as he held the door open for them. Jocelyn gave him a pointed smile as she escorted Jo inside. Jim paused to give his hand a squeeze.

“What can I say, it’s kind-of nice to have someone to complain to who gets it,” he smirked and he walked inside with Bones close behind him. The doctor snorted.

“Nice, my ass,” was all he said in reply.

\-----

Nyota Uhura thumbed through a magazine on a reading PADD in the front room of T’palla, the Vulcan healer’s...office, she supposed. She didn’t look up from what she was doing, focusing entirely on the magazine before her.

 _Fifty Ways to Nab an Older Man: Secrets Every Woman Must Know_ , the article proclaimed. She snorted indelicately; nabbing the older man wasn’t the problem. Getting him to stop being so stubborn as to assume he could handle everything alone was.

Spock sat next to her and stared straight ahead. The silence was profound and decidedly awkward. He finally turned to her. “You appear to be angry.”

“Hm? Why on Earth would I be angry?” She turned to the next page with a dramatic flourish.

“That is why I am asking, Nyota, as I do not understand the reason for this reaction.”

“Of course you don’t, because you’re the one making all the decisions.” She flipped the page again. “You’re the one who’s decided that he doesn’t need my help.”

“I said no such thing,” he said. “I simply stated that the probability of my injuring you during this time far outweighs the benefit of...”

“Yes, you did all of that. Moreover, you didn’t even ask if that risk is okay with me. You just assumed that it’s too much,” she hissed.

“It is too much,” he whispered back. “I simply cannot bear the thought of you becoming injured as my mother did several times during my youth. It is unnecessary to jeopardize your health.”

She threw the PADD down on the table next to her. “How’s the meditation working?”

He blinked at her. “I do not understand why that is relevant, as we were discussing...”

“It’s relevant because you’re passing over an easy solution for a harder one.” She raised an eyebrow. “So I want to know; how’s it working?”

Spock hesitated for a moment and she knew the answer just from that. It didn’t help that he was perpetually flushed. He was even perspiring a little and the jealousy radiated off him in waves on the shuttle. All of this was unusual for Spock, and it answered her question for her.

Still though, she was feeling just petty enough that she wanted to hear him say it.

“Not as anticipated,” he admitted. “The medication helps to clear my mind, and it takes a significant amount of meditation to push back the effects. I believe that with the aid of T’palla I shall be able to rid myself of it completely.”

She frowned. “I don’t understand why you’ll turn to a stranger but not me for this, I really don’t.”

“It is not a reflection of you or on our relationship, it is simply a matter of weighing the risks.”

Nyota opened her mouth for a moment and then closed it. Without another word, she grabbed her handbag and stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“For a walk,” she snapped. “You want to do this alone? Fine. Do it alone.” With that she flounced out of the healer’s waiting room and back on to the streets of San Francisco.

As she made her way down the block, her pace began to slow somewhat. It wasn’t like her to storm out or become so visibly angry. However...they had decided to spend the rest of their lives together. That meant he was supposed to come to her and seek out her assistance with problems, not tell her she couldn’t handle it and push her out of the way.

What did this mean for them, that this was his answer? Did this mean they weren’t strong enough for marriage? That was a blow to her and to their relationship. She stopped and looked back in the direction of the healer. Sighing a little, she began to make her way back.

Whether he felt he needed it or not, Spock deserved her support.

Even if he was being a giant pain in the ass about this.

[Chapter 3b](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/29624.html) | [Chapter 4B](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/30101.html)


	6. Fic: To the End (La Comédie) 4b/7

_**Fic: To the End (La Comédie) 4b/7**_  
This is part two of Chapter Four. Part one can be found [here](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/29702.html).

  
The convoy was heading north of San Francisco at a reasonable pace, and there were seven vehicles in all.

In the second wagon, Julien de Maupassant sat in the back with two armed guards and contemplated many things.

He contemplated how the vineyards were doing at his family’s estate. Chateau Picard beat them last year in the rankings and he wasn’t certain he could take another defeat such as that.

He contemplated how long it had been since he last read Machiavelli. Frightfully too long, at least six months. He briefly wondered if anyone in charge of the Federation had ever read him, particularly his essays on government. Obviously not, if the state of things was any sort of indication.

He contemplated his first-press collection of Edith Piaf records. Vinyl was truly a rare commodity in the twenty-third century and he was most proud of that collection. Her voice just sounded richer when played on the phonograph, and the imperfections were what made it sublime.

He contemplated the weather. It was a pleasant day, not too warm, just enough clouds to make the sunlight less obtrusive. He noted with not a little irony that it was the perfect type of weather for a wedding.

He contemplated destiny. The question of free will versus destiny was always an interesting one for him.

Above all of these things, he contemplated punctuality.

Or rather, the lack thereof.

A loud explosion rung out. It felt as if it came from in front of their convoy.

Ah, there we were.

The wagon slammed on the breaks and de Maupassant lurched forward off the bench. He landed roughly on the ground. He heard the sounds of phasers being fired. One of the guards that was with him took point by the back doors of the wagon while the other knelt down beside him to make sure he wasn’t going to attempt an escape.

Too little, too late.

The doors opened and phaser fire rung out. He made sure to stay flat against the ground to avoid getting hit. The guard closest to him was promptly hit and lay out on the ground next to him. Shots continued to fire for a moment and behind him he heard someone drop.

Perfect.

One of his followers, Miguel, came over to him and began to undo his restraints.

“Sorry about this, sir,” he said. “Getting the package took longer than anticipated.”

“What matters is that you made it at all,” Julien replied. “Please, I know I have told you before that it is not sir, it is Julien.”

“Yes, si...Julien,” he responded. The restraints began to fall off Julien’s wrists and he sighed in relief. “There. You’re free.”

Indeed he was. It was a marvelous feeling, to be sure. “And my package?”

“Waiting at the rendezvous point, per your instructions.”

“Excellent,” Julien said with a smile. “Most excellent.” Rubbing his wrists a bit, he and Miguel made their way out of the back of the wagon to their craft. His smile grew brighter.

He couldn’t wait to see Marla.

\-----

Christopher Pike made his way into the restaurant and rested on his cane for a moment.

“Hello, I’m here for the Kirk-McCoy dinner,” he told the hostess, who smiled at him in response.

“Of course, right this way,” she said as she grabbed a menu and began to lead him to the private dining room. He followed her easily to the back where he saw Jim and Doctor McCoy talking seriously to a red haired woman about something. A blonde woman sat nearby with a little girl that could only have been McCoy’s daughter.

He hated to admit it, but he had some reservations about this whole marriage thing...or rather, who it was Jim was marrying.

It wasn’t as if he hated Leonard McCoy; after all, he hand selected him for his medical team on the _Enterprise_. He was an absolutely brilliant doctor, one of the best Starfleet had ever seen. Not only was he good, but he was creative. He thought outside of the box when things went sideways, and that was really what made him so valuable. The whole reason why he could still walk was because of McCoy’s quick thinking and he would never have a way to fully repay that debt.

However...his bedside manner was atrocious, something that Christopher knew firsthand. He was snappish to people including his fellow staff. He was hotheaded. Sometimes he didn’t listen to reason, choosing instead to react solely with his emotions. He swore a lot. He was also a divorcé.

While he didn’t quite think of Jim as a son, he did consider himself to be close to him. It may have been true that he wouldn’t consider anyone good enough for him, he just couldn’t shake the feeling that Jim could do better. It ultimately wasn’t up to him and so he decided to keep this to himself.

He did still plan to have _words_ with McCoy.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he began to listen to the conversation

“...told you, I’m not doing it!”

“Well, one of us has to,” Jim pointed out with a smirk. “I think it makes more sense that you do it, since you did the whole standing and waiting thing before. Plus I proposed, so logically that means you should walk down the aisle to me.”

“I don’t see why either of us has to is what I’m getting at. Why can’t we both just come out together?”

“Look, we’ll solve this right now,” Jim said as he fished into his pocket. He pulled out a small, silver disc. “Heads, we do it your way. Tails, we do it mine.”

While thoroughly entertained by the argument, he had to wonder where exactly Jim found a coin. Everyone else in the room looked as confused as he felt, although McCoy recovered the fastest.

Holding out one hand, the doctor gave him a wary expression. “Let me see it first to make sure it’s not double-sided.” The red-haired woman with them sighed loudly as she tapped one perfectly manicured finger against her arm.

“Ow, right in the feel bads,” Jim replied. “You really think I’d do that?”

“ _Kobayashi Maru_ , Jim.”

“...Fair enough. Here.” The coin was passed over and McCoy took his time inspecting both sides. Once he was satisfied, he passed it back.

“Go on.”

Jim tossed the coin and everyone’s eyes followed it as it rose before gravity took hold and its fall began. He caught it easily and put it on the back of his other hand with a low smack. After a moment, he slowly removed his hand from over top of it.

“Son of a bitch,” McCoy grumbled as Jim began to do a dance.

“Leonard,” the blonde woman admonished as she looked pointedly at the little girl. She was obviously the ex-wife. The little girl just rolled her eyes.

“He’s said worse in front of me, Mom.” The woman, Pike wanted to say Jocelyn from reading McCoy’s dossier, looked at him with an accusing stare.

“It’s true, Joce, I have,” he admitted with shrug. “What do I always say when I do that, Jo?”

Comically deepening her voice to imitate him, Jo said, “Don’t be like Daddy, baby girl, you’re better than that.”

The redhead sighed again. “Okay so now that we finally have that settled,” she said and there was quite a bit of emphasis on the word _finally_ , “we just have to wait for the officiant.”

Taking that as his cue, Christopher cleared his throat. “That’s not necessary. I’m right here.”

Everyone turned to look at him then, and he noticed that Jim visibly brightened. He quickly made his way over to him and, with no regard for propriety or rank, wrapped him in a hug.

“It’s so good to see you,” he exclaimed with a grin. “Thanks again for doing this. It means a lot!”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he answered with a smile. He also noticed that McCoy had come over. Jim broke the hug and stood next to him, still with that grin on his face.

“Sir,” McCoy said as he extended a hand. “We appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to do this for us.”

That was probably the most polite thing he’d ever heard him say. He took his hand and shook it, perhaps a bit harder than strictly necessary going by the subtle wince on McCoy’s face. “No problem. Anything for Jim.”

“Right,” he replied as he took back his hand.

More of the guests began to arrive then, and most of them were Starfleet personnel. Commander Spock and Lieutenant Uhura came in, followed by Lieutenant Commander Scott. Lieutenant Sulu arrived not too long after, and Christopher was careful not to acknowledge Christine Chapel with more than a nod when she came in through the door. Finally, the young Ensign Chekov showed up.

An older couple came in through the doors and McCoy politely excused himself. The woman insisted on drawing him down for a huge hug and the man pat him on the back a few times. Jim was hanging back, watching the door for someone. McCoy led the man and woman over to him and he greeted them warmly. McCoy’s parents were dead, so this must have been the aunt and uncle listed in the aforementioned dossier, Ginger and Johnny. The aunt immediately went over to visit with the little girl, giving a polite but cool greeting to the ex-wife.

A man a little older and a lot similar in looks to Jim came through the doors with a brunette woman holding his hand. The worry disappeared from Jim’s face and he was grinning once more. He quickly made his way over to them and wrapped them into a hug.

“Sam, Aurelan,” he said with a grin. “Glad you made it!”

Oh, that was his brother and his wife.

The three of them chatted for a long while with Jim’s eyes not leaving the door. The woman, Aurelan Christopher mentally corrected, declared that she was thirsty and the couple made their way to get drinks. Jim went back to watching the door like a hawk, and he was visibly nervous about something.

As he got a drink of his own, Christopher continued his people-watching. The _Enterprise_ crew stood together and made smalltalk, but none of them seemed especially happy to be with each other. Scott kept staring at Chekov, who was pointedly ignoring him. Uhura was standing as far from Spock as she could get away with while talking to Chapel, who kept shooting looks at the helmsman. Sulu was ordering a drink for himself and was preoccupying himself with whatever Spock was discussing. Spock just looked...well, sick was really the only way to describe it.

He debated on going over to the group to make his rounds when he looked back and saw Jim looking disappointed. Before he could get too close, McCoy came over and whispered something in his ear. Jim shook his head a few times before whispering something back.

He wasn’t the head of Starfleet public relations and the black ops handler for nothing.

Under the guise of grabbing an appetizer, he made his way closer to the happy couple.

“I don’t understand, she made it to Sam’s wedding,” he heard Jim say in a sad voice.

“Just because she didn’t make it here doesn’t mean she won’t make it tomorrow,” McCoy said in a reassuring tone. “I’m not saying don’t keep an eye out, but there’s no need to get disappointed until you need to.”

“I know I just...I mean, she was never around, you know? Then she made it to graduation and...I don’t know. I guess I thought it was different now.”

Pike frowned. They were obviously talking about his mother, who he knew was currently doing research on Earth Colony II just a few light years away. She would have gotten the invitation in time, it was just a question of whether they would be able to spare her. For Jim’s sake, he hoped they would.

“From personal experience,” McCoy continued as he gently began to rub the back of Jim’s neck, “I can tell you parents generally aren’t missing because they think it’s fun. There’s usually a reason for it. It doesn’t make it right, but after having met the woman I know there’s no way she’d miss this on purpose.” He didn’t quite smile at Jim, but his expression was a bit lighter than it normally was. “Just let’s go on with this dinner, and give her a chance to be here tomorrow. If for whatever reason she’s not, then I’ll message her myself to tear her a new one, okay?”

He looked at the doctor curiously for a moment. That was actually kind, and judging from the look on Jim’s face, had soothed his fears considerably. There was still some doubt, but he wasn’t nearly as weighed down as he was.

Maybe he wasn’t such a bad choice for Jim after all.

Jim smiled and kissed McCoy on the cheek. “Sure, Bones, and...thanks.” They watched the crowd together again for a moment, their eyes settling on their crew mates. “Is it me or does that look not so hot?”

“Which part?”

“That,” Jim said with a wave at their friends. “All of that.”

McCoy raised both eyebrows. “No, I think saying that it looks terrible is right on the money. They look like they’re getting ready for a wake.”

“Right,” the captain agreed. “I hope they realize what I’ll do to them if any of them messes tomorrow up for us. In fact, I’ll go make sure they know right now.” With that, he took off to the group of their friends. Pike couldn’t hear what they were saying but he did see their faces fill with shame (wow even Spock) and Jim was gesturing wildly at them. There was probably the threat of an airlocking involved.

Whatever. If it worked, it worked.

He turned his attention back to McCoy, who was taking a sip of his bourbon. Well, he needed to say this one way or the other. Why not now?

“So,” he began and the other man looked at him with a curious expression. “You and Jim.”

McCoy’s posture became somewhat defensive at that and he frowned a little. “Me and Jim,” he said as he began to take another sip of his drink.

“I own a shotgun.”

Without even missing a beat, McCoy spit his drink back into his glass. He also began to cough.

“You see, phasers lack a certain finesse, and I’m something of an old-fashioned man,” Christopher continued as if he was talking about the weather. “I think you can appreciate that, can’t you?”

Still coughing, he nodded a few times.

“I haven’t had much call to use it in the last few years, though.” He looked at him with an incredibly serious expression. “Don’t give me a reason to pick it back up.”

McCoy looked at him for a moment. “Sir, if I ever were to hurt Jim like that, you’d freely have my permission to shoot me in the gut from twenty feet.”

“That’d be a slow and agonizing way to go out.”

“That’s the point.”

Christopher looked at McCoy very carefully for a moment. The doctor looked back at him with a serious expression. Finally satisfied, Christopher nodded once.

He had passed.

“All right then,” he said with a smile. “I suppose I should start calling you Leonard or something.”

“McCoy is fine. I don’t want you to strain yourself.”

Pike laughed. “If you insist.”

“If I may have everyone’s attention,” the wedding planner said as the room promptly got quiet. “We’re on a tight schedule, so we need to get the rehearsal part of the evening going. If I could have the grooms and the flower...er...maiden, please...”

Christopher watched Leonard drain his drink before walking up to the front to join with Jim and his daughter. He had to admit, they looked really good together, and they were obviously very much in love. He found himself wishing nothing but the best for them.

He still planned to clean Betsy regularly and keep her ammo close by, just in case.

It was at this moment that Janice Rand burst through the doors with a worried expression. That was odd, while she was invited and would be attending the wedding, she wasn’t supposed to be at the rehearsal dinner.

Something must have been seriously wrong.

“Janice,” Jim exclaimed brightly. “Still keeping a taser on you?”

“Only when I’m going to see you, sir,” she chirped back. “Mazel tov to the two of you. I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need to speak with Admiral Pike for a moment.”

Shit.

Christopher quickly made his way to her and they both stepped back out into the main restaurant area. She pulled him into the server’s side station after making sure the area was clear.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry, sir,” she said again, “but Julien de Maupassant and his followers escaped approximately two hours ago. Somehow they got the security detail information prior and planted an ambush. We lost ten men, with a dozen more injured.”

What?

“How the hell did this happen?”

“They planted mines,” she answered quickly. “In the confusion following the explosions, the Aehallh quickly dispatched our security and freed de Maupassant and the others.” Janice looked down at her hands for a moment before continuing. “The obvious answer is they hacked the Starfleet system, but there’s been no obvious signs of outside tampering. No one went in directly. They’re still trying to determine if a backdoor was used; frankly, with everything else that they’re dealing with, they haven’t had much chance to do so.”

Christopher thought for a moment. He didn’t like what this was adding up to. “Inside job?”

Janice hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Sorry to say it, but it seems the most likely. The brass are fearing retaliation of some kind, but the problem is they don’t know against who or how.”

Biting his bottom lip for a moment as he thought carefully, he weighed his options. “Double the security details on the admiralty, including me. We can’t take any chances. Sistene’s inside, I can try to get her alone and dispatch her to watch after Kirk. We should get a couple of more men on him just in case.” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “I’ll have to figure out a way to tell him about this, obviously, although he’ll likely freak out and insist that he’s fine like he always does.”

“He certainly will,” she said in a bright tone of voice. Having worked under him for the first four months of the current tour, Janice knew his habits well. “I can make the call and get a few agents dispatched, although it’ll be tight as we don’t have many ops planet side.”

Christopher nodded. “Get two if you can, and put everyone else on tracking de Maupassant down. I have a feeling I know where he went, but we can’t be too certain. He’s flashy and likes attention, I’m sure he’ll strike again soon.” A terrifying thought occurred to him and he momentarily panicked. “Like at a certain high profile wedding happening tomorrow.”

“That’s why I came to you directly about this, instead of just comming you or waiting until after.”

It was reassuring how competent she was. No wonder Jim recommended her when Pike had mentioned needing an attaché. She even figured out the incredibly specific way he liked his coffee after only two days.

“Get security to spare every man they can on the wedding, I don’t care what their other assignments are, flag this as priority one. I’m not having Barnett, Jim, or anyone else killed on my watch because everyone thought de Maupassant would grant us a stay of execution for a wedding.”

Janice nodded. “Anything else, sir?”

After pondering for a moment, he shook his head. “That should be all.”

With that, she saluted and left. Pike was alone, and he thought for a moment about how to continue. Ideally, he should tell Jim and McCoy, but he was concerned that it would upset the happiness of their wedding.

Then again, nothing could upset a wedding quite like a terrorist attack. Best to go ahead and tell them.

Now there were only two things he needed to figure out; one was how to pull Sistene aside and not have it look suspicious. The second was how to break this to Jim.

\-----

“You have got to be kidding me,” Jim exclaimed.

The rehearsal dinner was over and the attendees minus Jocelyn and Joanna were making their way to the site of the bachelor party. Jim and Bones were eager to catch up to them, but Pike had mentioned needing to speak with them alone about something important. With smiles, they told their friends to go on ahead.

It went without saying that they were no longer smiling.

Pike held up his hands in a sign of surrender. “Do I look like I’m laughing,” he retorted. “de Maupassant escaped almost four hours ago, and we don’t have any leads on where he’s headed. Given his penchant for the dramatic, the only thing we can assume is that he’s targeting someone at the wedding tomorrow, or, hell, that he’s just targeting the wedding period.”

The happy couple had matching pissed off looks on their faces. Which, hey, was completely justified given the circumstances. No one likes to be told that there’s a huge possibility your wedding is going to be ruined.

Bones sighed out loud. If they were offering to tighten up security there wasn’t much else anyone can do. He would freak out, but Jim was apparently doing enough of that for the two of them.

“I’ve already dispatched one operative to keep an eye on you,” Pike continued, “but I’m getting two more for tonight. They’ll be shadowing you, you won’t even notice them. Tomorrow we’ll just pull in all the security personnel and military police we have local. I’m not taking a chance with you or with anyone else that’ll be in attendance.”

“You think he’s after Jim?” He wasn’t sure why he was surprised by this; everyone was always after Jim, it was just a fact of the universe.

Pike hedged before nodding. “Him or Barnett are the most likely targets, but we’re leaning towards Jim because he’s the one who brought him down.”

Bones nodded. “So, revenge then. Terrific.”

“Since his organization’s entire motive is built around revenge, it makes the most sense.”

Throughout this exchange, Jim started to turn pale. He looked down for a moment before clearing his throat. Bones and Pike immediately turned their attention to him. “He’s not coming for me, he’s coming for Bones.”

“What?”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Bones said. “He’d never even seen me until this morning. I haven’t even spoken with him, Geoff was the one who did his scans.”

“He knew what you looked like, he said you were good-looking,” Jim elaborated, “and he threatened you.”

There was a pronounced silence between the three men.

Bones sighed out a “Yeah you mentioned that,” at the same moment the admiral said, “And you didn’t tell anyone about this?”

“Of course I told someone,” Jim snapped. “I told security to keep an extra close eye on him, and I filed it in my mission log, plus I told Bones himself this morning. Jesus, do you think I’m new at this?”

Once more, Pike held up his hands. “I’m not implying that, Jim, just if it’s in your logs then that’s why I hadn’t heard about it. It takes intelligence a few days to go through them, and not everything gets flagged that should. Everyone would hear about it in a few days, it just would have been too late to do anything about it.”

Bones, however, was watching Jim very closely. “You really think he’s after me?”

“Everyone knows you’re my hot button,” Jim answered seriously, “even him, considering how I reacted in the brig. If he’s out to get me, he knows that the best way to do that is to go after you.”

Dread washed over Pike; Jim was making a lot of sense right now, and that was not a good thing at all. “What exactly did he say?”

“He said if Bones got hurt he’d be the only one able to put himself back together.”

Bones clenched his fists and Pike scrubbed a hand down his face.

“While it may be more passive-aggressive than what I’m used to, I’d definitely say that qualifies as a threat,” he said after a minute’s thought. “At least this part is an easy fix. I’ll tell the ops to look after both of you. I don’t know that I have another person to add, unfortunately, but if they all know to shadow both of you things should be all right. It’s not likely he’ll do anything tonight anyway, he’ll need time to regroup and marshall his forces.”

Jim looked down again before looking back at Bones, who was watching him with a concerned expression. “I’m so sorry.”

Bones sighed. “It’s not your fault that this guy’s crazy. You didn’t intend for this to happen.”

“No, but I still brought this down on us,” Jim replied. “If it wasn’t for me being so high-profile, this wouldn’t be happening.”

“That may be true, but it’s a part of being with you, Jim. I made my peace with it a long time ago.” Truthfully he had, during the first mission Jim went on after they got together. The away team, of course, had gotten captured and they were cut off for thirty-six hours. Bones spent most of that time thinking about how to handle those situations. Jim had been more careful since falling in love with him, and he knew that if shit went wrong it was because all other avenues had failed. So he dealt with it and accepted it as a part of being with him.

For some reason, this didn’t reassure Jim. He actually looked more upset than he was. “It doesn’t have to be,” he said.

“It’s fine,” Bones answered. It honestly was. “Just...let’s go okay? Let’s take our minds off it.” He reached out a hand and Jim took it with a reluctant smile. He turned back to Pike. “We’ll be careful.”

Pike nodded. “Good luck and have fun.”

Jim smiled a second time, and this time it was for real. “Good luck yourself. C’mon Bones, I want to watch you get a lap dance.”

Rolling his eyes heavenward, Bones could only snort in response.

\-----

Pavel Chekov waited at the bar for his turn to order. He was decidedly low on vodka, and if there was ever a need for liquor it was that particular moment.

After dinner, the party with only a few exceptions had moved to Atmosphere, a strip club that catered mostly to Starfleet personnel. It was famous for providing entertainment of all races, genders, and colors. If you wanted it, you could find it at Atmosphere.

Pavel went a few times during his time at the academy thanks to a fake I.D. provided to him by his roommate. He was excited to be back for sure. Apparently, the captain used to drag the doctor here back in their days as just friends, so the night was equal parts ridiculousness and nostalgia for them.

He still needed a drink, though.

“What’ll be it, hotshot,” the bartender asked him with a wink. He grinned back.

“Russian standard, double, straight up please,” he shouted over the loud music. She grinned.

“You got it.” She did her job quickly, pouring the vodka over ice in a shaker, filtering it to pour it into a glass so that it was perfectly chilled. She handed it to Pavel with that same grin from before. “Starting a tab or closing out?”

“A tab,” he said and he handed her his bank card. “Chekov is the name.”

“No problem, Checkers,” she said as she stuck out a hand. “Name’s Cessily.”

He shook her hand. “Nice meeting you.”

Cessily flipped her bangs out of her eyes with a toss of her head. “Same. So, what brings you here tonight? You’re obviously not a regular.”

Pavel grinned; she looked to be a few years older than he was, which was fine. The most important thing was that she was cute. “Bachelor party,” he said with a point to where Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy were about to do shots of Jack with each other, although admittedly the doctor looked reluctant. Her mouth formed a small O shape.

“You’re with the Kirk shindig?”

He nodded. “Yes, they get married tomorrow.”

She pulled out a drink of her own. “To the happy couple then.” They clinked glasses and took sips from their respective drinks. Pavel turned his back slightly to the bar to take in the sights.

McCoy had beaten Kirk (a voice in his brain reminded him that maybe since he’d made out with him he could call him Jim but another part thought maybe he should ask first) with the shots and the latter was demanding a rematch. Mister Spock looked uneasy and unwell while Nyota was dancing along with the loud, pulsating music in the club. Chapel was there too, although he noticed that sometimes her attention was elsewhere, like at the entrances and exits of the club. Maybe she was watching for Hikaru.

He winced. While he may have had issues with their involvement in the past, that fight on the shuttle was ugly. If she was lying to Hikaru, then she could pretty much kiss their relationship goodbye. It sounded like she may have a reason, though, so maybe they could work things out. He just hoped that, for her sake, Hikaru was willing to understand her.

It was at that moment Pavel sensed that someone was watching him. He looked up and caught Scotty’s gaze. When their eyes met, Scotty immediately looked away.

What was the English phrase? Ah yes, “Whatever.” That was it.

He took a long swig of his vodka before turning back to the bartender. Cessily was cute, and if Scotty didn’t want him why not go for it? “Working all night?”

“Until two, yeah,” she answered breezily. “I’m a night owl so it works out, although sometimes getting up for class is a killer.”

“Where do you study?”

“UC Berkeley. I’m pre-law, just paying my way through.” She talked as she made drinks for other customers. “And you’re Starfleet, but what do you do?”

Ah-ha, so she was smart as well as pretty. “Navigator, _USS Enterprise_.”

“Nice,” Cessily said with a whistle. “So you’re in space a lot, huh?”

“All the time.”

There it was again. He turned and Scotty was watching him with a worried frown.

Good. Let him see what he was missing, then.

Back at their table, Jim and Bones sat close together. They both had drinks and were alone except for Chapel, as their friends were all up to different things.

“What about her?” This one was a blonde woman. Bones obviously had a thing for blondes, so why not?

Except Bones was shaking his head. “Nah.”

More than a little exasperated, Jim sighed. “Okay, how about him? He’s pretty hot for an Andorian.”

“No, he’s not doing it for me.”

Jim threw up his hands. “No one is doing it for you!”

“There’s only one person I want to get a lap dance from these days,” Bones answered with a shrug. At Jim’s touched expression, he smiled a little. “Why’s it so important to you anyway?”

After thinking for a moment, Jim leaned closely into his ear. “Because it’d be hot to watch you get a lap dance and then have you go home with me.”

A grin formed on Bones’ face. “Thought we weren’t sleeping together tonight,” he said as he took a sip of his drink.

“We’re not sleeping together in the literal sense,” he clarified. “We just can’t wake up together. The rules say nothing about us having one last go as single men.”

“You and your loopholes.”

“I prefer to think of it as tactical thinking,” Jim said with a sage nod. Bones laughed loudly.

“You would.”

“You don’t mind,” he said as he pulled him in for a quick kiss.

“I suppose not.”

As she watched the main entrance for a moment, Chapel rolled her eyes. “You two are nauseating.”

“You can hear us across the table over the music,” Jim asked in an incredulous voice.

“If I was deaf and imprisoned in a coffin buried underground I would hear you.”

Ouch.

“You know no one’s forcing you to sit with us,” Bones said as he took a pointed sip of his drink. “I know you and Sulu are having problems, but this is supposed to be fun.”

She sighed. “No, you’re right,” she said as she watched the side exits for a moment. Christine looked up at the balcony where she saw Agent Belle. He nodded at her once and she nodded back. He had a good vantage point of the whole club from where he stood. “I’m sorry, I’m just on edge right now.”

“He’ll come around,” Jim said with a reassuring smile. “Sulu’s the most reasonable guy I think I’ve ever met. Whatever he’s angry about, he’ll cool down and you’ll talk.”

Nodding again, she turned her attention back to them. Things so far were looking good, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. At least they hadn’t figured out that she was one of the people dispatched to handle them. She sipped on a Cardassian Sunrise slowly; normally she wouldn’t drink at all, but it would look more suspicious if she didn’t.

“Captain,” Spock said as he came over. “I believe it is time I should go.”

Jim stood up from the table. “You and Uhura calling it a night?”

The Vulcan hesitated before answering. “She is staying. I am going back to the hotel to meditate in preparation for tomorrow.”

All three of them frowned at that, and Christine made a note to ask Nyota if she was all right. Bones watched her from across the club; Sulu had finally shown up, and they were doing shots of tequila together. Spock was watching them also with an uncharacteristically angry expression and Chris’ face fell a little.

In the split second their attention was on their friends, shots began to ring out in the club.

Shit!

Without even hesitating, Christine flipped the table onto its edge. People were screaming all around them and running towards the doors. Chekov had been dragged behind the bar with that girl he was speaking to, and Nyota, Scotty, and Hikaru were taking cover as well.

Good, that meant she could concentrate.

She glanced up and saw Belle was taking aim and firing down at one of the back entrances. People dressed in camouflage suits with masks came storming in the front during the confusion. Another op she didn’t recognize started firing as well and managed to hit two of the people coming in from the front. Thinking quickly, she flipped another table to provide them cover from behind.

Without another moment’s thought, she crawled to in between the tables and pulled Kirk, McCoy, and Spock down with her.

“What the fuck is going on,” Jim said.

“Aehallh’s here,” she answered in a matter-of-fact tone. She quickly pulled out a phaser that was strapped to her thigh under her skirt. There was another one stashed in one of her boots and she grabbed it as well. She quickly stood back up from behind the table and opened fire with both phasers on their assailants. She managed to hit three of them before she ducked back down behind the table. “Any of you hit?”

“No, we’re fine,” Jim answered.

“For certain variable definitions of fine,” Spock couldn’t help but point out.

“Where the fuck did you learn to do that,” Bones snapped. “What the hell are you?”

“Not now, Leonard!” She stood back up and took out two more of the terrorists. She pulled a knife out of the bun in her hair and threw it, catching one of them in the throat. Jim and Bones blinked.

“Well, that explains why she always wears her hair up,” he said, and the doctor nodded in response.

Taking aim and firing again, Christine was careful to duck when she could. “Shit. There’s just too many of them!” She lifted her watch to her mouth. “Sistene to Pike, repeat, Sistene to Pike.”

 _This is Pike, Sistene, go ahead._

“There’s water in the basement and the heat pump is frozen.”

There was a moment’s pause and then Pike replied in an angry tone with _Copy that, Sistene, help’s on the way. Hold them off, Pike out._

Somewhat bitterly, she shook her head. So much for protecting the wedding. She looked up at the balcony to check on Belle; he was still managing to hold them off when she saw him get hit.

God dammit.

The Aehallh were relentless, there had to be dozens of them and she was pinned. As long as she could, she was going to stop them. She stood back up and opened fire again, managing to thin the herd a little.

At least, until a phaser blast grazed her right arm.

“Fuck,” she shouted as her weapon dropped to the ground. She kept firing with her left hand as Jim immediately picked it up. “Don’t you even think about it,” she snapped.

“Like hell I’m sitting here while you get shot up defending me, Lieutenant,” he barked. “I’ll make it an order if I have to.” He stood with his back to hers and opened fire, trying to stave off the goons coming from the back of the club now that Belle was out.

“You’re too valuable, and this is my op,” she said. “Get the hell back under cover.”

“I just told you I’ll make it an order!” There, he got one. He kept firing indiscriminately, just trying to hit whoever he could.

“Your rank doesn’t matter right now,” she said as she took out three more. “Just thought you should know that.”

“Christine,” Bones began as a shot nearly missed him. Apparently there were some things that, no matter how common, a person just never got used to. “Your arm, I should...”

“I already told you, not now!” She barely managed to avoid getting hit a second time. “I’ve had worse, I’ll deal with it later.”

Spock was breathing heavy, his skin was flushed, and he was sweating profusely. “Doctor, in my left pocket...”

Bones nodded, and awkwardly fished in Spock’s pocket for the hypospray. After finding it, he quickly pulled it out and tilted Spock’s head. “Here.” He injected him quickly, and Spock’s breathing began to regulate a little as the fog lifted from his brain. “You have the worst possible timing, you know that?”

“I shall endeavor to do better in the future,” Spock shot back halfheartedly.

The Aehallh were trying to surround them. One by one, Chapel and Kirk managed to pick off members. They were still highly outnumbered, until a voice called out for a cease-fire.

Jim pointed his phaser up toward the ceiling, and his other hand rose into the air as well. Chapel kept hers trained on the terrorist that spoke. He quickly pulled off his mask and revealed himself to be Julien de Maupassant.

“Ah, very nice,” he said in a jovial tone. “You have acquitted yourselves admirably. I do apologize for the loss of your other operatives, mademoiselle. These things unfortunately do happen.”

“What’s your game, de Maupassant,” she said in a sharp tone. “What do you gain by attacking a bachelor party?”

“I gain nothing but leverage,” he answered quickly. “So if you’ll both come with me now, it will make things go more quickly. I should mention that in the commotion I have taken several civilian hostages,” he said as he pointed towards about a dozen people being held by his men. “Either they get killed right now in front of you or you come with me.”

Jim lowered his phaser. “You can have me, but you can’t have Bones.”

Julien looked confused. “I have no idea who that is.”

The captain rolled his eyes. “Doctor McCoy. My fiancé.”

Julien looked even more confused. “Why would I want your fiancé? I have no need for a doctor, I employ several for my organization. I’m referring to the Vulcan, the other hero of the _Nerada_ incident.”

Spock and McCoy both stood from behind the table at this, the former with a confused expression and the latter with a pissed off one.

“You look perplexed,” Julien said in a soothing tone to Spock. “I will explain along the way.”

“Explain now,” Chapel said, her phaser not having moved from being aimed at his face.

“And give your back up enough time to arrive and recapture me? No, mademoiselle, I have seen enough movies to know better.” He smiled, a cold smile with a sharp edge to it. “Let the captain and the Vulcan come with me, or these people will die right in front of you. Do you really wish to explain that to your Starfleet?”

Her eyes narrowed for a moment; it would be so easy for her to just take the shot and end this. A hand fell on her shoulder and she glanced sideways at the captain.

“Drop it, Chris,” he whispered. “We’ll go.” Something tugged on her wrist; she didn’t look down, she simply instead let the captain take her special wrist communicator. He pocketed it silently, and she didn’t acknowledge what he did. “It’s too risky, and I don’t want anyone else to have to die.” Spock nodded his agreement.

“Jim,” Bones began and Jim looked at him with a sad smile.

“Love you,” he said as he gave him a quick kiss. “Don’t take too long,” he whispered to him before being pulled away. Spock was grabbed in a similar manner, his face twisting for a moment into anger.

“Thank you for seeing reason,” Julien said with a smile. He signaled for his men to let the club patrons go, and they immediately complied. “This is all we require for the night. Please, enjoy the rest of the festivities. Bon soir.”

The terrorists began filing out with Jim and Spock, leaving Christine and Bones behind with the civilians. She threw her phaser down on the ground with disgust.

Just...shit.

[Chapter 3A](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/29702.html) | Chapter 5A


	7. To the End (La Comédie)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are cordially invited to the Starfleet social function of the year. That is, assuming these terrorists and the Enterprise Crew's own issues don't get in the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agent Belle’s real name is Ferdinand Sebastian. I’m sorry, I love bad puns. Agent Ramen’s last name is Topp. I AM A TERRIBLE HUMAN BEING.

_**Fic: To the End (La Comédie) 5a/7**_  
Title: To the End (La Comédie)  
Series: Star Trek XI (as if I write for anything else these days): [water park 'verse](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/21874.html)  
Rating: PG-13/R for some violence, swearing, and fade-to-black sexy stuff  
Summary: You are cordially invited to the Starfleet social function of the year. That is, assuming these terrorists and the Enterprise Crew's own issues don't get in the way.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to do with the characters featured in Star Trek or the Star Trek movie from 2009. No harm was meant, so put the lawyers away, man.

Chapter Notes: Agent Belle’s real name is Ferdinand Sebastian. I’m sorry, I love bad puns. Agent Ramen’s last name is Topp. I AM A TERRIBLE HUMAN BEING.

Sertraline is the medical name for the SSRI-type anti-depressant Zoloft.

The jumpsuits look like [this](http://io9.com/5681130/spy-kids-4-jessica-alba-in-a-jumpsuit-set-pics). Once again, you are welcome for the mental images I have given to you. Sometimes I think I should write the next movie, because clearly I have the best ideas. Oh well. If someone in Hollywood puts a water park on the Enterprise, I’m getting a lawyer.

“Pute,” is French for “whore,” but they use it more like English speakers use “fuck.” It can literally be any part of speech, and packs more of a punch than “merde,” which is simply the word “shit.” Six years of French and these are the things I took away from it, well that and George Sand was amazing and is my renegade folk hero. Madame Meeker would be so proud.

I appear to have started shipping Pike/Rand because of this story. I just...I don’t even know, man. These things just keep happening to me and they snowball and I inflict them on you all because I feel lonely.

Extra special thanks for this chapter to [](http://faoi-cheilt.livejournal.com/profile)[**faoi_cheilt**](http://faoi-cheilt.livejournal.com/). Otherwise the rescue would have been like unrealistic and two words. Thanks bb!

Once again, this chapter has been split into two parts due to length. There is a link at the bottom to the second half.

  
Jim Kirk sat in the back of the shuttlecraft as his wrists were bound with a sour look on his face.

“Gotta say, it’s pretty low for you to do this right before my wedding,” he spat.

Julien smiled. “Doing it at the wedding is too obvious. I knew the moment I escaped Starfleet would tighten the security for your ceremony. I took a gamble they would assume I would need more time to wage an assault. It seemed I was correct.”

“You should let Spock go, he’s sick, and he has nothing to do with this,” Jim countered and the terrorist began to laugh.

“He is sick? Really? How new to this do you think I am?”

“I’m not lying so you’ll let him go, look at him.”

Indeed, Spock’s cheeks were quite green. “The captain is correct. I am currently suffering from a serious Vulcan ailment. Without the proper treatment I could become intractable or even violent.”

The terrorist leader looked at Spock carefully for a few moments. He was quick to smile once again. “I’ll risk it.”

Jim frowned. That was pretty much the only thing he had. Now what could he do? “You did a good job, throwing me off the trail. Thought you were after Bones with that bullshit thing you said.”

Julien smiled. “I had to do something to keep you guessing. You really are more brilliant than even the holos would say. You are a most worth adversary, James. It has been...fun.”

“Keep me guessing? About what?” The shuttle began to move then and Jim tested his bonds. His wrists were bound with metal zip ties; there was no way for him to break out of them. Dammit. He looked behind Spock’s back to his wrists, which were also bound in zip ties. It was obviously too much for him to break, although he kept trying.

They really had thought of everything.

Julien thought for a moment before answering. “You are already defeated, so there is no point in being secretive.” He placed his phaser next to him within easy reach. “Our capture was no accident.”

Jim’s jaw dropped. “What?”

“I believe the expression is I took a dive. The capture, the wounding of my ship, my time in your cell...it was all a gambit, part of a scheme. Your suspicions were right all along.”

Understandably, Jim was stunned. “You attacked my ship on purpose just so I’d capture you?”

“Yes, so that I in turn could capture you.” He folded his hands neatly into his lap. “The original plan was to track you during your shore leaves. That was quickly amended when I found out about your wedding. A good friend gave me the information regarding my transport to Foucault, and from there I passed the information along to another good friend.”

“How did you find out about the wedding,” Spock asked.

“Ah yes, that first friend of mine? She showed me your engagement photograph. Very touching, the love you have for each other simply radiates off it.”

A feeling of dread washed over Jim. “This friend of yours is a member of my crew?”

“Was,” Julien corrected. “I am afraid she was highly dissatisfied with her position, both on your vessel and in Starfleet. She was not challenged, so I offered her something better.”

“You mean you conned her.”

“Always thinking the worst,” he chided. “I would not promise if I did not intend to deliver. I am nothing if not a man of my word.”

It was all damning, although granted it was a very clever plan and not one that he could have foreseen.

“I do not understand what you hope to gain by our abduction.”

“What I always hope to gain; that my message will be sent loud and clear.” The shuttle began to make its descent. Jim noted they were in the air for a little under an hour and thirty minutes, which put them somewhere in either Oregon or southern California. Julien picked up his gun and gestured toward the door.

“After you, gentlemen,” he said.

Jim and Spock stood up, and Jim couldn’t help but notice his first officer swaying a little. That was the last thing they needed. One of the armed men behind him shoved his phaser into his back. “Move,” he said.

“I’m going, I’m going,” Jim grumbled. “It’s not my first time at this rodeo, dude.”

They were quickly herded off the ship toward a large, seemingly abandoned warehouse-style building. The forest and temperature put them definitely in Oregon. Jim hoped that Christine’s watch was still emitting its signal; maybe they could be tracked with it.

“Thought you were based out of France,” Jim couldn’t help but quip.

“Saint-Étienne is home and where I spend my leisure time,” Julien said by way of explanation. “Here is where I work.”

“Wouldn’t think a man with a cause such as yourself would have much in the way of ‘leisure time’.”

Julien shrugged. “Even God took a day off, James.”

“I really hate that you call me that, my own mother doesn’t use my full name.”

“Do not worry,” Julien answered in a soothing tone. “At noon tomorrow what appellation I use will be the furthest thing from your mind.”

\-----

“How the hell did this happen,” Admiral Pike snapped at Christine Chapel with a furious look on his face.

“Sheer numbers,” Chris replied. “They had us each ten to one. It was a complete ambush, sir.” She sighed and with a shake of her head said, “We didn’t stand a chance.”

“How did they know where the bachelor party even was? How?”

“I don’t know, sir. The only thing I can come up with is that they had someone on the inside.”

“Hey lay off her,” Bones snapped from where he stood not too far away. “If it wasn’t for her, Jim and Spock’d be dead. So would I.”

Pike looked at him with a withering stare for a moment before turning his attention back to his operative. “Your answers aren’t good enough, Sistene, considering just how hard they wiped the floor with you. Especially since we lost both Belle and Ramen.”

“Sir?” Nyota Uhura asked from where she stood next to Bones. “Could you perhaps take a break from reprimanding her to explain exactly what just happened? Apart from the obvious, I mean.”

Pike looked at her for a moment, before looking at Scotty, Sulu, and Chekov. He sighed. Normally protocol dictated that he not explain anything except to those who strictly needed to know.

He hated to admit it, but considering the circumstances these five people were now in that category.

“At approximately 13:13, Julien de Maupassant and his followers escaped Starfleet custody on their way to Foucault. Given the nature of the escape, and how far they were from their primary base of operations, we assumed that they would not attempt anything until tomorrow during the wedding, as all of de Maupassant’s attacks have been extremely high-profile and flashy.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Obviously, we were wrong.” He glared back at Chapel. “Several operatives were charged with the captain and the doctor’s safety until we could add the heightened security detail to the wedding proper in the morning.”

“Operatives,” Sulu asked, his eyes trained on his girlfriend. “What kind of operatives?”

Pike looked at her and she frantically shook her head no.

“She’s a spy, lad,” Scotty piped up helpfully. “Codename’s Sistene.”

The glare that Christine gave Scotty could have been felt all the way in the delta quadrant.

“What? You said your code states that in emergencies you can reveal what you are to the relevant personnel,” he continued. “If ever there was a time it was relevant to us, it’s now, lass.”

“Technically she’s not just a spy, she’s general black ops including wet works,” Pike clarified, “but the sentiment holds.”

Hikaru stared at her as if he was seeing her for the first time, and Chekov looked appropriately frightened.

“Am lucky I was not killed,” he mumbled to himself.

Bones furrowed his brows. “Is that why you disappear in the store room with a dermal regen a few times a month?”

Chris started and looked at him for the first time since the attack ended. “You know about that?”

“It’s my sick bay, Christine. I see all,” he answered.

Pike frowned. “So on top of letting them get the captain and the first officer tonight, you’ve been getting sloppy with your cover. That’s fantastic.”

She whirled her head back to Pike with an angry expression. Before she could retort, Bones began to speak again.

“And you,” he addressed the admiral, “it’s been bothering me since this afternoon, but we were all told the P.R. gig was created for you after you got hurt. Why are your hands all over this?”

“Being in charge of P.R. is my cover,” Pike explained. “My real role is coordinating the covert ops. Back in the days of the C.I.A., I’d have been called a handler.”

There was a long silence as the five of them contemplated this new information. So not only did Starfleet have black ops, Pike was in charge of it. It was a lot to let sink in on top of everything else.

Wearing a black jumpsuit, Janice Rand came in with a PADD tucked under one arm. She wordlessly handed the PADD over to Pike, who immediately started reviewing the information displayed on the screen.

“This is accurate,” he finally asked his assistant. She nodded twice.

“Yes, sir,” she said in response.

He looked at Chapel. “You gave Kirk your communicator?”

“Yes, sir. He took it just before he left with de Maupassant.”

Christopher handed the PADD back to Janice. “Nice to see you finally did something right, Sistene. Your tracking device is still in operation. We’ve got a lock on their location. That’s assuming, of course, he hasn’t had them killed.”

Uhura closed her eyes and let out a low breath. Bones swallowed thickly as he absently picked at the hem of a shirt cuff. The relief was palpable.

Christine shook her head a few times. “There’s no drama in just killing them where no one can see. He’s going to hold out on that to maximize the damage.”

Janice nodded her agreement. “It does fit his M.O. better than simply murdering them.”

After shooting her a look of gratitude, she turned her attention back to Pike. “Sir, let me go after them. I’ve been gathering Intel on this organization for months, you don’t have anyone else planet side that can do it in the timeframe we’ve got. I’m your only shot.”

“Oh like hell you’re going in by yourself,” Bones snapped. Nyota nodded at his words.

“I’m sorry, I don’t recall asking for you to bug into my op,” Chapel said with a raised eyebrow. “Neither of you has any training for this. You’ll both be bigger liabilities than help.”

“I was first in my marksmanship class,” he retorted. “Nyota was the same. We know what we’re doing.”

“Being a good shot isn’t enough! Neither of you know the first thing about this set of protocols, all you’ll do is _get in my way_!”

“Enough!” Everyone’s attention was focused back onto Pike. “Take them.”

“Sir?” She had to have misheard him.

“Sulu, Scott, and Chekov too,” he added. “You’re right, we don’t have the time to scramble more people to stage a rescue. You’ve got them all here, and they all have skills you can use. You work with what you’ve got.” He sighed. “Work out the finer details and then I’ll get you all a shuttlecraft and whatever else you need.” He turned to Janice. “Pull up the files on the Aehallh stronghold and begin briefing them. We’re cutting it close as is. I need to make some calls.”

“Aye, sir,” Janice said, and she pulled up the relevant files on the PADD as he stepped away. “We can safely assume the Aehallh are taking Captain Kirk and Commander Spock to their stronghold located outside of Portland, Oregon.”

“That their flight path, Jan,” Sulu asked as he looked at the screen. Janice nodded.

“As stated, their trajectory suggests no other destination,” she continued. “We only learned the location of their headquarters this week; until now, we’d been operating under the assumption that they were based in France as that was where all of their money was coming from. We can also assume that their stay of execution,” Bones and Uhura both winced, “is a short one. de Maupassant acts quickly, but never rashly. We have to operate under the assumption that he staged his capture just to get to this point.”

“Think he got captured on purpose,” Chekov asked with a curious expression.

“It’d make sense, Jim’s been saying all along that they went down too easy,” Bones answered.

“Kirk was smart to be suspicious; unfortunately, none of us got it right for when his counterattack would occur. We’ve had several people doing recon on this H.Q. and we have preliminary information on it. That’s the good news.”

“What’s the bad,” Scotty asked.

“Highly secure. You’ve got ten exterior cameras surrounding all viable entrances and exits. The system itself is run on two redundant closed loop circuits in titanium casing. There is no way to hack it without setting it off. The roof has four cameras in addition to the ones previously mentioned, plus pressure sensors. There’s nothing around the warehouse but some trees, so there’s no line of sight to get in through the few windows, which are also attached to the security system.” She tapped her finger against the image of the warehouse. “Basically, it’s everything but air tight.”

“What do you mean there is no way to hack it,” Chekov and Scotty asked in unison. Both of them looked moderately offended at the mere suggestion.

“Like I said, two redundant closed circuits. You do anything to it other than enter the security code, and if you’re lucky it triggers the system. If you mess up, it fries you.”

“What if there was a distraction, people drawing fire while other people did the hacking,” Chris asked with a thoughtful expression.

Tossing her hair out of her eyes, Janice nodded. “It’s feasible since the alarms would be going off at that point anyway. These people have been highly trained, though, they’ll know if it’s not real.”

“It would seem real if we went in there staging a rescue, especially if Uhura and I are part of the team,” Bones supplied. “They’d have no reason to doubt its authenticity.”

“He’s right,” Chapel said. “They’d definitely assume it’s real in that case. We could it make it look like they’re doing it on their own with no back-up.” She looked at him and Uhura. “Granted it’s extremely risky.”

“It’s worth it,” Nyota replied. Bones nodded his agreement.

“So that draws away maybe a third of their people,” Sulu spoke up. “The question is, how to draw the rest?”

“Another distraction,” Christine said, “although they may be suspicious, but if it involves Kirk and Spock they won’t question it too hard.”

Hikaru looked at the display more carefully. “Do we know where they’re likely holding them?”

Janice looked over the screen for a moment. “Most likely in this back room here,” she said with a point of her finger.

He looked at it again for a moment. “Suck the air out.”

Everyone turned to stare at him, even Pike who had finished his calls.

“You want us to do what, Kiki,” Janice asked incredulously. Chapel paused and glared at her over the nickname.

“Suck the air out,” he repeated. “Chekov and Scotty can build a vacuum-device. The system will already be tripped by the first team. We then attach it to the outside wall while Nyota and McCoy draw their attention. We suck the air out, Kirk and Spock think they’re dying and call for help. If this guy wants to put on a show with them, he won’t let them die. He’ll send people in after them, and there’s our second distraction. That paves the way for a team to go in and take de Maupassant and whoever else out.”

Chapel was impressed. “That’s a solid plan.”

“It is,” Pike found himself conceding.

“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with asphyxiating Jim or Spock,” Bones spoke up.

“It’ll only last a few minutes,” Sulu explained. “Most likely, de Maupassant and his goons will open the door and fix them up before they even black out. Especially Spock.”

“Kirk has my wristcom, we could warn them just before it happens. In the din of the alarms, no one will be tracking any communications going in or out of the base. We won’t get them into any trouble if we time it right.”

Pike was rubbing his chin with his hand. “Either way, you won’t have a big window to go in there, and grab them.”

“Small windows are something of an _Enterprise_ specialty,” Scotty pointed out in a cheerful tone. “We can do it.”

The admiral looked at the crew members; once upon a time, he had hand selected most of these six people to serve under his command. Things hadn’t worked out that way, but he felt reassured in his choices even after all this time. He nodded to each of them in turn.

“Now the only question is...how do we suck the air out?”

Scotty and Chekov looked at each other for a moment before they began babbling excitedly together.

“It may take some caulk...”

“...Simple vacuum should suffice...”

“...Maybe some duct tape, you can’t have enough duct tape...”

“...Tap into warehouse generator to give it power...”

“...Only work for a couple of minutes, maybe five, but that should be all we need...” Scotty looked at Pike with a grin. “There a Home Depot anywhere on the way?”

Janice looked at Christopher for a moment as he tried to decide if the engineer was kidding or not.

“He’s not,” she whispered without being asked. He nodded in reply.

“We’ll get you what you need, Scott.” He gestured for them to follow him. “Let’s get you all suited up first.”

\-----

“Is this really necessary,” Jim said with a sigh as two Aehallh members patted him down. “Whoa there, sugar lips, only my fiancé gets to touch that.”

The terrorist in question shot Jim a baleful look as he continued patting down his legs.

Meanwhile, Spock was growing angrier with every touch. He was even snarling. “I insist you cease touching me at once,” he said as he breathed heavily. Jim eyed him with concern.

“You are not in any position to be giving orders,” de Maupassant said with a smug grin. “We have to be certain you are not carrying any tracking devices.”

“Found a watch,” the goon going through Jim’s pockets proclaimed. “Weird, it looks like a woman’s.”

“Destroy it,” Julien said without hesitating. “Cheating on your doctor? A gift from an ardent admirer?”

“Must have been slipped to me by a stripper,” Jim lied. He also winced inwardly at the thought of what Chapel would do to him when she found out he called her a stripper. “I’ve never seen it before.”

“Then you won’t mind,” he answered. “Have you found any other devices on them? Any emergency transporter switches or communication devices?”

“No, Julien,” one of the girls searching Spock said. “They’re clean.”

“Excellent. Take the watch and we will destroy it outside.” He stepped out into the hallway. “Once the door is sealed, you’ll have thirty-six hours worth of air provided neither of you is a heavy breather. Granted you will be executed before that time has passed, but I did not wish you to think you would be suffocated.”

His followers had joined him and began to close the door. They smirked at Jim and Spock.

“Enjoy your evening, gentlemen, I shall see you in the morning.”

With that, the door closed, leaving them alone. Spock sat down in a corner and placed his head in between his knees. Jim cautiously walked over to him. He went to place a comforting arm on his shoulder when Spock jerked away.

“Do not touch me, I cannot be responsible for what I do,” he snapped.

Jim backed off a little bit but was still hovering over him. “How bad are you?”

Spock looked up at him; his eyes were bloodshot and his skin was flushed. “I fear the meditation is not aiding me the way it should.”

Shit.

Jim sat down next to him. “That hypo Bones gave you back in the club, that didn’t help?”

“It merely ended the headache,” the Vulcan said. “The sertraline can do nothing for the pon farr itself. It appears that my half-human physiology is accelerating the symptoms. While I should have four more days before being completely overtaken by its effects, that clearly is not how things are occurring.” He panted a little. “Every moment that I sit here, the more unstable I become.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“The only alternatives open to me at this time are mating or the kal-if-fee,” Spock answered in something of a defeated tone. “I am fairly confident you will volunteer for neither of those.”

“Yeah uh...you’re really important to me, Spock, but getting killed by you is kind of a no-go for me. And mating with you...well, I’d also get killed if I did that, but by Bones.” Deciding to take a risk, he half-smiled. “Besides, we had this conversation on Atlus. We don’t think of each other that way, remember?”

Spock nodded his agreement. “It would perhaps be wise for you to stand on the other side of the cell then.” He shook his head. “Also I feel I must point out that Doctor McCoy would not have a chance to end your life, as Nyota would end both of ours before he had the chance.”

Having moved to the wall directly across from him, Jim nodded. “You’re probably right. She is downright scary when she’s pissed.”

“Indeed. I fear I have been inciting her wrath frequently of late.”

“Your whole refusal to have sex with her thing?”

Spock hesitated before nodding. “She feels I am not allowing her to aid me during my time.”

Jim wrapped his arms around his legs. “I could see that. She can help with this and you told her no. I’d probably feel the same way.”

“It is nothing personal,” Spock continued. “I just do not wish to see her befall a similar incident that my mother did.”

The captain nodded. “Well, I understand both sides is all I can say. But you know, in the interest of not murdering someone in cold blood, perhaps you should take her up on it when we get out of here.”

“You are assuming that we will.”

Wow, Spock sounded bitter. “Pretty sure we will. That watch was Chapel’s wristcomm to Pike. Sure they’ve destroyed it by now, but we’ve been here long enough that they’ve got a lock on where we are. I’m willing to bet we’ve only got like three hours at the outside before they send a team to rescue us, and if I know them our friends will be on that team.” He looked off into the distance. “Though going from how things look, I don’t know how easy it’ll be. This place is locked down tighter than the Presidio.”

Spock nodded his agreement. “The security system appears to be two closed redundant servers. I am not certain Mister Scott or Mister Chekov can hack into it.”

“Maybe not either of them alone, but together they can do it probably,” he replied. “I’m more concerned with the cameras I noticed as we were dragged in here. There’s no way they can really sneak in.”

“Perhaps they will employ some form of distraction,” Spock said as he took long, slow breaths. “As much as I wish to continue discussing this with you I feel I must attempt to meditate in order to at least partially stave off the pon farr.”

Jim nodded. “I’ll just stay over here and not talk then.”

Spock nodded his thanks and shifted his position, sitting with his back straight. He breathed deeply for a few moments before closing his eyes. Sweat continued to bead on his forehead as he eventually managed to enter a meditative state.

Jim sighed and tilted his head back into the wall.

This was not good.

This was the opposite of good.

In a perfect world he and Bones would be together right now, either still at the party or having their own private one in one of their hotel rooms. They would snuggle for a little while after, and then kiss each other goodbye before going to bed. Then they would wake up tomorrow, shower, get dressed, and get married.

It was supposed to be the happiest day of his life.

Instead, because of his stupid reputation he was sitting in a cell in God-knows-where Oregon with a sick Vulcan. He had no way to know for certain that Bones or Pike or, hell, anyone knew where he was. All he had was hope.

Trying not to make a noise, Jim clenched his fists angrily.

He was proud of what he did to save the Earth from the _Nerada_. He had always been proud of it, and he was proud of everything he had done since.

But was it worth it?

He couldn’t even get married without being set upon by terrorists, let alone have a normal existence. Everyone knew who he was, it was part of how he got Madelyne to be their wedding planner so easily. Yeah, sometimes he used the fame to his advantage like when he wanted to take Bones someplace special on shore leave and they said they were booked up.

None of that mattered if it meant he couldn’t marry Bones, if he was going to die before he even got the chance.

He buried his face in his hands for a while.

He kept going back to that brief conversation he and Bones had after the rehearsal dinner, about how Bones just accepted that this was part of being with him.

That made him almost unspeakably angry.

Why the hell should Bones have to accept it? Why shouldn’t he ask him to change? It wasn’t fair to him, to always be left worrying if this was the one he wouldn’t come back from. He let go of his face and wrapped his arms around his knees.

As long as he stayed in Starfleet, things like this were going to keep happening.

He shook his head.

The problem was that Starfleet was where he belonged. He was built for it, everyone knew that; even the teachers that didn’t like him at the Academy grudgingly admitted it. There was nothing else he could do with his life that would make him nearly as happy.

Except...how could he ever really be happy if he kept doing this to Bones?

Jim bit back a sigh. He wanted to curse, but he didn’t dare disrupt Spock.

Well, he had nothing else to do. There was no reason why he couldn’t take advantage. An answer for him was bound to be found with time, which he had plenty of.

He looked at Spock; his breathing was even and his skin was less-flushed. He was definitely in a trance.

He allowed the sigh that time.

“Don’t take too long,” he said to himself, echoing the last words he spoke to Bones. “We’re on a deadline.”

\-----

“Are these suits really necessary,” Bones asked no one in particular. “I feel kind-of exposed.”

Pike wasn’t kidding when he told all of them to suit up; everyone was given standard issue Kevlar black bodysuits with reinforced boots, fingerless gloves, and the special wrist communicators. Chekov kept pulling at his collar, and Uhura kept adjusting her gloves with a weird expression.

Chapel rolled her eyes. “You insist on coming along for my op and then you complain about the dress code. Really?”

“You wear this shit all the time,” he snapped back and Sulu, who was piloting the shuttle, winced at the words _all the time_.

“Yes, yes I do, and there is a reason for it! It’s called being covert, you should look it up!”

“Guys,” Nyota said from where she sat. “Not right now.”

Chekov unbuckled his harness and went to the back. “Going to help Scotty,” he said by way of explanation.

Nyota looked at Chris and Leonard. “Are you guys really going to fight the entire time we do this?”

“No,” Chris huffed at the same time Bones went, “Obviously.” She made a loud exasperated sound and made her way up to the pilot’s bay to sit with her boyfriend.

Nyota looked at Bones with a sour expression. “This isn’t easy on her.”

“Because it’s so easy on me to have my fiancé abducted right from under my nose, plus I get told ‘oh hey he’s probably going to be killed.’ Then on top of it, I find out my head nurse is actually a spy and has been lying to me the entire time I’ve worked with her.” He crossed his arms. “And I’m on a shuttle and we all know how well I deal with that. No, you’re right, this is a goddamn picnic.”

“Being an asshole doesn’t solve anything, either,” she said. “Do you think I’m not freaking out about Spock, especially given his...condition?” It was her turn to cross her arms. “We’re all doing the very best we can with what we’ve got. You snapping at her over every thing she does when she’s the only one of us with any experience in this type of mission is counterproductive at best and dangerous at worst.”

Bones slumped against the seat with a frown. “I know, it’s just...it’s how I handle things.” He shook his head a few times. “I did this to Jim once, not too long after we got together.”

“How’d he deal with it?”

He smiled. “He let me go off on him for about ten minutes, and then he calmly asked if I was done. Once he was finished reassuring me, he told me if I ever treated him like that again he would punch me square in the mouth.”

Nyota blinked several times.

Bones, however was smiling at the memory. “Haven’t done it to him since.” The reality of their situation hit him again and the smile quickly faded. “I don’t know what I’ll do if...”

“Stop,” she pleaded, as much as for her sake as for his. “Just...we’ll make it. We’ll make it with time to spare, and we’ll get them out.”

He winced. “I’m sorry, Nyota, I just...”

“I understand,” she admitted. “The last thing Spock and I did was fight at your party. I just have to keep hoping I’ll get a chance to make things right with him. Otherwise, I can’t do this.”

Bones slumped again as he nodded. Usually when he got like this Jim was the only person who could talk him down, but she was right. Worrying about what ifs and snapping at everyone wasn’t going to solve anything. He pulled at the edge of a sleeve.

“Let’s go over the plan again, just to make sure we’ve got it down,” he offered. “I don’t want either of us second guessing anything.”

“That’s a good idea,” she said. “More productive than worrying or staring off into space.” Nyota leaned forward in her seat. “So, what happens after we touch down?”

“You and I disembark the shuttle, taking our rifles, and make our way through the woods using the night-vision goggles.”

“We need to be careful not to alert them to our presence too quickly.”

“Right, which is why we’re going around the complex to the North, as there are less woods there.”

“When we get within view of the warehouse, we start storming the castle, again being careful as likely the guards will vastly outnumber us.”

“We shoot them up, making as much noise as possible and drawing as many of them to us as we can.”

“We then get ‘overwhelmed’ and make it look as if we’re falling back. We call out the signal phrase that we need backup.”

“The guards surround us, and hopefully de Maupassant comes out to interrogate us, but Scotty and Chekov have made their way to the rear and have begun sucking the air out.”

Nyota nodded. “Sounds good. Let’s go over it again.”

Christine listened to them going over the plan from where she sat next to Hikaru. He had yet to acknowledge her presence, opting instead to focus on flying the craft.

“So Sistene, huh?”

She couldn’t help but jump a little. “Yeah. I didn’t choose it.”

“I certainly hope not,” he said with a smile that was slightly off. “That’s the worst pun I’ve ever heard. Although they do get some small points for the fact that it also rhymes with your first name.”

“I’d pass that along, but the names are chosen by a computer.”

They rode for a little while in silence. It was uncomfortable and different from the silences they usually had between them.

“Do you understand now,” she asked.

Hikaru shrugged. “It’s pretty obvious I don’t have the clearance to know what you get up to, yeah.”

She turned in her seat to face him as she tucked her legs up under her. “I didn’t do it because I wanted to.”

“I’d like to believe that.”

“I wanted to tell you, Hikaru, I really did.”

“I’d also like to believe that,” he said and the expression on his face was one of honesty. “It doesn’t change the fact that you did it, though.”

“Because I had to,” she pleaded. “I have my orders, and they supersede everything else.”

“Scotty knew.”

Chris sighed. “Yes, Scotty knew, because he was in command during that fiasco on Castro. The only way I could have gotten you all out was by telling him where I got my Intel from. As he said earlier, in certain circumstances I’m permitted to tell the commanding officer about me. Everyone else is off-limits, though.”

It was his turn to sigh. “Including significant others.”

“Especially significant others,” she clarified. “It’s not unheard of for them to be targeted and killed to get at agents.”

Hikaru took one hand off the controls to pinch the bridge of his nose for a moment. Neither of them spoke for a long time. He shook his head a few times before finally looking at her. “If we keep seeing each other, nothing’s going to change right? You’re going to keep disappearing and lying to me, hell you might not come back at all.”

“As much as I would like to,” and she really would, “I can’t go against my orders. It’s not just for my safety, it’s for yours too. So, yes, I’ll keep disappearing and not telling you what’s going on.” She bit her lip for a moment. “It’s not like you always can tell me about what happens when you go on the missions with Kirk and Spock.”

“That’s different because I don’t lie to you Chris, I just tell you I can’t say.”

“And I was supposed to do that with how often I need to leave? You practically accused me of cheating earlier, I can’t imagine you wouldn’t have done that had I just told you I couldn’t say.”

He brought his hand back down to the console and steered them quietly through the woods. They were getting closer, she could tell by the terrain. “I don’t know, Chris. I have to think about this.”

Christine looked down at the floor for a moment. “I understand,” she said sadly. They rode the rest of the way in silence.

In the back, Scotty was putting the finishing touches on the vacuum device. It had taken a portable generator, a shopvac, some soldering, and a bit of the aforementioned caulk and duct tape, but he had done it. Pavel stood and watched him for a moment before kneeling down on the opposite side of the vacuum.

“Not prettiest,” he said and Scotty looked up at him, “but will do job well.”

“It better,” the engineer said with a frown. “We only get one shot, and since they turned off the communicator we can’t even warn Kirk and Spock about what we’re doing.” He offered a crooked smile. “Let’s hope they don’t panic too much when the air gets thin.”

Pavel nodded back. He stared at Scotty, who flushed a little.

“You were staring at me at the club,” he said.

“Was I,” Scotty said in what he hoped was a nonchalant voice. “Sorry.”

“I do not understand what happened,” he continued, making Scotty wince. “Everything was great and suddenly you do not want to spend time with me.”

The engineer sighed. He really wasn’t prepared to have this conversation. More the point, he didn’t really know how to explain without hurting him, which was the last thing he ever wanted to do.

A voice in his head pointed out that running away from him had already hurt him badly, but it was better he not make it worse.

“I can’t talk about this now,” he answered. “We’ve got too much else going on, too many other things that need us to be clear-headed and focused.”

Pavel’s expression turned stony. “Now you don’t wish to answer my questions.”

“I’ll answer them, just...not now, all right? We need to be able to work together on this and we can’t if we talk about this first. I’m not saying no, Pavel, I’m saying later.”

He didn’t look particularly impressed by what Scotty was saying, but he did drop it. He began to examine the machine again. “Hope I did math correctly.”

“You did, I checked it,” Scotty reassured him. “I mean, I didn’t do that because I doubted you or anything, it’s just a habit I’ve picked up.”

“I know. You are thorough. I choose to take the compliment,” he smiled at him and Scotty felt himself get flustered.

Maybe he was being silly about Pavel. Maybe Pavel could really want him. Maybe they could be happy together.

He smiled back at him, which made Pavel’s grin noticeably brighter and his eyes sparkle.

Scotty thought long and hard about all the things Pavel did for him, like reminding him to eat or visiting on his off time just to spend time with him. He genuinely sought out his company. It started because everyone else was angry with him after the thing with Sulu, but over time he did it because he wanted to.

Pavel had feelings for him, too.

If he was being honest, they had been in a pseudo-relationship with each other for weeks. No wonder he was so upset by him blowing him off; he thought Scotty was dumping him in the worst possible way.

This was all terrible. Scotty felt like an awful human being. He also felt stupid for the first time in his adult life. Just like he hadn’t seen what his feelings for Pavel had evolved into, he failed to notice that Pavel’s feelings were the same.

God he needed to apologize, grovel, and beg, not necessarily in that order.

The shuttle began to descend and before too long they were landing. Chapel came back to them.

“We’re here,” she announced. “Leonard and Nyota are assuming their positions. Be ready to do the same.” She turned and made her way back to the middle section of the ship.

The two men nodded at her retreating figure. It was time to get ready, and there was no turning back.

Somehow, as he looked at Pavel again over the vacuum, he knew things would turn out okay.

Chapter 4b | [Chapter 5b](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/30624.html)


	8. Fic: To the End (La Comédie) 5b/7

_**Fic: To the End (La Comédie) 5b/7**_  
This is part two of chapter five. Part one can be found [here](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/30461.html).

  
Julien de Maupassant made his way to his private quarters within his warehouse. Truly it had been a long day. It was time to retire, as the next day would be undoubtedly even longer.

True, the day was long. Not trying, though, but rather incredibly successful. His friends had performed their tasks well, and though he was saddened by the losses he sustained, they achieved their goal with minimal collateral damage.

Kirk and Spock would be publicly executed for their crimes the next day at noon. Let the Federation do without their vaunted heroes, and learn what the price was for their hubris.

He opened the door and the sight that greeted him made him smile.

Marla sat on the sofa in one of the Aehallh uniforms. She looked somewhat nervous, but her hair and eyes were soft in the dim lighting.

She was an unexpected spoil of his war, but one he would gladly take. She was beautiful, clever, and highly skilled, and he did so love history. None of this would have been possible without her, and to her he was eternally grateful.

It was time to show her just how much.

“Ah there you are,” he said as he stepped inside. “I apologize for my rudeness.”

“It’s fine,” she said and she looked relieved. “I’m just fidgety. It’s a matter of minutes before Starfleet figures out what I did.”

He closed the door. “If they have not already.” He walked over to the sofa and sat next to her. “Are you concerned that they will come for you?”

Marla nodded. “A little. I basically committed treason.”

“Who decides that,” he said. “What you did was admirable.”

“They won’t think so.” She bit her bottom lip for a moment. “Neither will my parents.”

“Your parents, the people who would not let you choose your own life?” Julien shook his head emphatically. “There is nothing in that world for you, Marla.”

She gave him a long look. “No, you’re right. My family never understood me. No one in Starfleet ever understood me.” She smiled. “You understand me.”

“I do,” he said as he took one of her hands in his. “I am pleased to go on understanding you, if you will let me.”

She flushed a little, but nodded in response. “Is everything ready for tomorrow?”

“Yes, my message will be sent at noon after we hack the satellites. I don’t wish for anyone to miss this.” Julien grinned down at her. “You will be by my side, yes?”

“You’d want that?”

“I would not ask if I did not.” He stroked her face with the back of a hand. “It would honor me.”

“I’d love to,” she finally said. This made his smile brighten and he leaned in to kiss her.

There was a pounding on the door.

“Pute,” he mumbled. “Excuse me.” Angrily, he stood up and opened the door with a cold expression. “When I said I did not wish to be disturbed, I was not making a colorful joke.”

“We’re being attacked,” the woman who knocked said. “We’re not sure of anything right now except they’re Starfleet. They must have somehow followed us here.”

“Pute,” he said again more loudly. That stupid Starfleet, always ruining everything. This would not stand. “Send all the men you can spare to go after the intruders, but take them alive. I want to know who they are, where they came from, everything.” The woman nodded at him before bowing.

“Yes, Julien,” she said and she took off back down the hall. He turned his attention back to Marla.

“I sincerely apologize for the interruption.” Julien shook his face with a rueful smile. “I shall see to it that whoever these people are, they shall be punished.”

“I’ve waited this long,” Marla replied as she came over to him. “What’s another hour?” She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “Take care of them. I’ll be waiting.”

He touched her hair once before turning to leave.

Unfortunately, business must always come before pleasure.

\-----

“Well, this is going great,” Bones grumbled under his breath as he took aim and fired on a squad of Aehallh goons. “How are you holding up?”

“Oh, I’m just dandy,” Uhura said as she did the same. “They better come to us soon, or else this whole thing’s over.”

They managed to score hits at the same time before regrouping behind a tree. Bit by bit they advanced on the warehouse. It wouldn’t be long before they’ were flanked.

 _Alpha team, this is Beta team. Status?_

“Beta, we’re almost pinned,” Bones responded. “Send in the clowns.”

There was a pause before Scotty’s voice rung over the line. _Now, that’s just hurtful._ Bones and Uhura both rolled their eyes.

 _Copy that, Alpha. Delta team, go._

 _Aye, we’re going. Delta team out._

Bones stepped to the side of the tree and opened fire, quickly taking out two goons. Shots rang out at him and he went back under cover. “I think I need to have a word with the Lieutenant Commander Zsaji about her idea of a simulation for her marksmanship class.”

Uhura snorted. “Wasn’t particularly realistic, was it?” She took out two goons on her own.

“Not a goddamn bit,” he groused. The sound of a twig snapping caught his attention. “They’re here,” he said to her in a low voice. She nodded.

Showtime.

“Command November-Bravo this is Night Fox,” she said into her wrist com. “We’re going down in the basement, repeat we’ve gone down in the basement, acknowledge?”

 _Right on schedule,_ Chapel said into their earpieces. _Time to play dead._

More phaser shots rung out and they stood back-to-back as they fired into the darkness. Bones heard a person cry out. Good.

At least, things were going well until his hand got shot.

“Shit,” he said as he dropped his phaser to the ground. There was no way in the darkness to recover it. More of the terrorists came out of the darkness and surrounded them.

It was done.

Nyota held her phaser up towards the sky, raising her other arm along with it. Bones made the same gesture. They were flanked by about seven people.

“Hold your fire,” one of them called. The army kept their weapons trained on the two officers, but none of them opened fire. “Julien wants them alive.”

“Hey guys,” Bones said with a sarcastic grin. “Just in the neighborhood, checking out the local real estate. What’s the school district like here?” Nyota couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“I know you,” the person doing the talking said as he raised a flashlight into their faces. “You’re Kirk’s fiancé, and you belong to the Vulcan.”

“Belong to,” Nyota asked incredulously. “I mean we’re involved, but that doesn’t denote any sort of proprietary relationship. Really, that line of thinking is _so_ twentieth century.” It was Bones’ turn to laugh.

“You’re awfully jovial for two people about to be put in an airtight cell,” he said. He gestured to one of the other terrorists. “Bind their wrists, let’s take them back to Julien.”

“Shouldn’t we check for more Starfleet officers? There’s only two of them,” another person asked.

“Oh please, they’re a doctor and a linguist,” he snapped. “You really think if Starfleet sanctioned this they’d send in a _doctor_ and a _linguist_?” He took a moment to spit on the ground. “They’re obviously just two people playing cowboy to get their loved ones back, which makes them idiots. Let’s just take them to Julien.”

Bones and Nyota exchanged a glance for a moment as their wrists were bound with metal zip ties. They both tested their bonds; sure enough, nothing short of breaking their thumbs would get them out of it.

“Let’s get ‘em back before Julien gets cross.”

Phasers were shoved into their backs and they began to be led back to the warehouse.

\-----

“Alpha team’s pinched,” Janice said from where she was listening to their comms. “Delta’s going in hot.”

Christopher nodded, taking a much needed sip of coffee. This was the worst part of his job, listening in on the missions and waiting to be told the ops were clear. He fortunately didn’t have to do it much, but on something like this with untested people it was best he did in case everything went sideways. He took another sip of his coffee.

“How do you always manage to get it right? The replicators can’t even figure it out.”

Janice didn’t answer him with anything more than a pointed smile.

He chuckled. “Right.” He turned his attention back to the communicators. “Beta team ready and in position?”

“They are.”

“Sistene have the chargers?”

“Yes, sir.”

He took another sip of his coffee and put a hand on her shoulder. “Sorry to keep you up tonight. I know how you hate missing sleep.”

“You know, it’s not so bad,” she said with a shrug. “Like I keep telling you, this is way better than being Kirk’s yeoman.”

“That’s terrifying.”

“So was that job.”

“The incident with his evil half?” He took another sip.

“What?” She looked up at him with a curious expression. “Oh, that wasn’t a big deal. I used a taser on him and dragged him to the brig. No, I’m talking about the recklessness, sheer level of mania, and his complete inability to handle normal things like polite conversation.” She thought for a moment. “Although, I hear he’s mellowed since the good doctor shacked up with him.”

“I’ve always been fond of that expression, shack up with,” he said in a fond tone. “Not quite as evocative as ‘living in sin,’ but it still paints an interesting picture.”

“It does, although...shouldn’t technically they not be allowed to be together because of fraternization?”

“Nah, the CMO’s the only person who can override the captain if he or she wants,” Pike explained. “Besides, I’m not going to tell Kirk it’s against the rules. Are you?”

Janice looked up at him again with a blank expression. After a moment, she pointed at him. “True.”

“There’s a reason why they pay me the big bucks,” Christopher said with a shrug. “What’s going on now?”

“Delta’s got the vacuum up against the wall, they’re switching it on.”

“I have a feeling Jim and Spock are liable to panic since we can’t warn them about that.”

Janice nodded. “Yeah, it’s unfortunate, but I think they’ll understand once we get them out of there.” She placed a hand to her earpiece for a moment as she strained to listen. “Beta team’s on stand by.”

After taking another drink of coffee, he sat his mug down next to her hand on the table. “Here we go.”

\-----

Having given up on his wallowing, Jim was now pacing the cell as quietly as he could. He looked down at Spock, who was still meditating.

Fuck, he needed to get out. This shit was ridiculous.

He kept pacing, counting his steps as he went.

For some reason, he was feeling stifled. It was almost like it was getting hard to breathe. He stopped moving and took a deep breath, feeling winded from his pacing.

Wait a minute.

It _was_ getting hard to breathe.

What the hell, Julien said the air wouldn’t run out for thirty-six hours!

“Spock,” he said and it came out kind of hoarse. “Spock!”

Spock stayed in his trance.

Jim assessed the situation for a moment. He had no choice.

Walking back over and trying to ignore how hard it was to catch his breath, Jim shook the Vulcan’s shoulder. “Spock, come on, come back to me. I need you.”

Spock startled out of his meditation, the green flush coming back to his cheeks. “Why would you...”

“The air,” Jim said with a slight wheeze. “We’re running...out of air...”

Spock inhaled once, then immediately had to do it second time. The captain was right, the air was rapidly getting thinner.

The terrorists had lied to them.

Maybe it was because he was jolted out of his meditative state. Maybe it was all the stress of the capture. Maybe it was the uncertainty of ever seeing Nyota again. Or maybe the simple lack of oxygen was making him angry.

Whatever the cause was, Spock found he was literally shaking with anger. The blood was pounding in his ears and he was sweating profusely. He felt a rage unlike any he had ever felt, with the possible exception of his mother’s death, begin to overtake him.

He needed to get out. Immediately.

Jim, however, was starting to panic. He bent over at the waist and tried to get as much air as he could, but he was quickly becoming lightheaded. It wouldn’t be long before he’d pass out and not ever wake back up. All he could think was that he was going out too soon, and how unfair it was to Bones. He quickly slid to the floor in a kneeling position as he was unable to hold himself up any longer. Tears began to form in his eyes and he tried to blink them away.

It just wasn’t fucking fair.

Spock was on the verge of hyperventilating. He stood and snarled at the door. It had a handle, but was sealed from the outside. It was made of some kind of plastic, and had to be incredibly heavy.

“Get back,” he said.

Jim looked up at him from where he was on the floor. “I...Spock...”

“Get...back...” he hissed a second time. Jim gathered up the strength, moving only a meter or so from where he sat previously. He looked up at his first officer with a confused yet scared expression.

Spock furiously began to punch the door.

“What...are...” Jim wheezed. “You...use...air...”

Spock didn’t acknowledge him, just continued punching it in the same spot over and over again. He made loud feral growling noises with each impact of his fist. The pon farr had him in its full grip and he could no longer control himself.

\-----

The two Aehallh guards standing watch outside of the cell door were bored.

That is, until the pounding started.

“Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”  
The pounding grew a little louder.

“That,” the first guard said as he turned to press his ear up against the door. “It’s coming from inside.”

The second guard had a nervous look on her face. “Do you think they need help?”

“Don’t know,” he admitted. “Go get Julien, just in case!”

She nodded and turned to run down the hall. He stood near the door, but not too close and armed his phaser just in case.

\-----

Jim was laying on his side on the floor now as he struggled to breathe. He dimly watched Spock punching the door.

There was a loud sound, almost like a splintering. He kept punching in that splintered spot, his knuckles now stained green from his blood. There was another sound like a shattering and the door fell into pieces. Spock began to kick them all away, leaving a big enough spot for him to pass through.

Feeling strangely calm in the wake of his outburst, he took several deep breaths of the fresh air now pouring into the room. He reached down and put Jim into a fireman’s hold, carrying him out through the door. The second they hit the outside, Jim began to sputter and cough as his body began to regain oxygen.

The guard standing by their door pointed a phaser at Spock, although his hands were shaking. Spock simply set Jim down on the floor, walked up to him, grabbed the phaser, and turned it back on him.

“Go,” he snarled and the guard did as he was told. Jim was managing to stand now as he began to breathe more normally.

“Sucks worse,” he said while panting, “when not being choked. Way scarier.”

“Curious,” Spock said as he looked down at his injured hand. “I appear to have staved off the pon farr with my destruction of the cell door. I wonder if perhaps the violence of my outburst caused a reaction similar to the one made by the kal-if-fee.”

Jim stood to his full height after fully regaining air in his lungs. “Here’s an idea, we worry about that later. For now, we get the hell out of Dodge.”

“What does an American-made vehicle have to do with our situation,” Spock asked as they began to run down the hall.

“Not _a_ Dodge, just Dodge, it’s a place,” Jim explained. Another guard came upon them and Jim dropped to the floor, slid across it, and swept her legs out from under her. He quickly grabbed her phaser and stunned her. “We’ve got to find a way out, and we’ve got to do it quick.”

They quietly made their way down the stairs, freezing at the sight before them. They quickly ducked back behind cover and watched from around a corner.

Bones and Uhura had been captured. Julien was clearly interrogating them.

“Who sanctioned this?”

“We told you, we did this on our own,” Uhura said. “Starfleet refused to send a team after you, preferring instead to wait until you made the first move.”

“We don’t do well with waiting,” Bones added.

“How did you find us?” Julien said with a smile. “Oh I see. That watch James had. Apparently we discovered it too late and you located us with it, yes?”

Neither of them answered him.

Jim assessed the situation. There were about ten guards surrounding them with de Maupassant. If they went in at that moment, they’d have the element of surprise on their side for a few seconds. After that, though, they were completely outgunned. They were of no use to them dead or recaptured. He looked back up the stairs from where they came; any second now someone else was going to notice the door and come after them from that direction. It wasn’t quite a no-win scenario, but it was pretty damn close.

At least, it was until a shuttle crashed into the front of the building, just barely missing Bones, Nyota, and Julien in the process. Chapel swung one of the doors open and opened fire with an automatic phaser rifle, quickly taking out a large swath of the terrorists. The couple that were quick managed to duck behind some crates.

Jim knew an opportunity when he saw one. He looked at Spock, who nodded once. Together they opened fire, taking out the remainder of the guards. Bones and Uhura looked up at the stairwell and their faces were incredibly relieved.

“Hey guys,” Jim shouted. “This housewarming blows. Let’s go out to a bar, first round’s on me.”

He and Spock made their way down the stairs quickly, running past de Maupassant and his followers. Together with Bones and Uhura, they jumped inside the shuttle. Chapel quickly closed the door and Sulu jammed it into reverse.

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Jim shouted as everyone quickly took seats and fastened their harnesses. That was when he noticed Scotty and Chekov were also on board.

“Part of the plan,” Sulu shot back. He quickly turned the shuttle around and pushed the throttle, getting them as far away as possible.

After a minute of flying, everyone began to relax. Bones turned his back to Jim, showing him the zip ties.

“Yo Chris, do you have more knives in your hair?”

Wordlessly, she passed one to him and one to Spock.

“Sweet,” he said as he quickly cut Bones’ bonds. Spock did the same, and Nyota rubbed her wrists gratefully. This was when Jim noticed how they were all dressed. “So did Starfleet get a new dress code I don’t know about?”

Everyone in the jumpsuits rolled their eyes, including Sulu.

“I have to admit I am confused by one thing,” Spock said.

“One thing?” Jim looked baffled. “I’m not ungrateful, mind, I just...I have no idea what the hell was going on back there.”

Pointedly ignoring him, Spock continued. “We are simply leaving de Maupassant and his men to go free?”

Everyone familiar with the plan looked at Christine, who was inspecting her nails for dirt. Jim and Spock also looked at her.

“One of my areas of expertise is demolitions,” she finally said in a bored tone. There was the sudden sound of a loud explosion, and Jim brightened considerably while Spock nodded.

“I see.”

Christine smiled and she lifted her wrist comm to her mouth. “Sistene to Pike.”

 _Acknowledged, Sistene. What’s the sit-rep?_

“Hive’s been crushed and the package has been picked up.”

 _Copy that, Sistene. Good work. See you at debriefing, Pike out._

With that, they all relaxed for the rest of the flight back to San Francisco.

[Chapter 5a](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/30461.html) | Chapter 6a 


	9. To the End (La Comédie)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are cordially invited to the Starfleet social function of the year. That is, assuming these terrorists and the Enterprise Crew's own issues don't get in the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _Taluhk nash-veh k'dular_ is Vulcan for “I cherish thee.” It’s about as flowery as they get and is considered a “declaration that is acceptable between bondmates in Vulcan society.” _K’diwa_ is the shortened version of _k'hat'n'dlawa_ which means “half of each other’s heart and soul.” It apparently is a bit archaic due to the emotional connotations the words have. It’s essentially “beloved” in Vulcan. These were taken from [The Vulcan Language Dictionary](http://www.starbase-10.de/vld/).

_**Fic: To the End (La Comédie) 6a/7**_  
Title: To the End (La Comédie)  
Series: Star Trek XI (as if I write for anything else these days): [water park 'verse](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/21874.html)  
Rating: PG-13/R for some violence, swearing, and fade-to-black sexy stuff  
Summary: You are cordially invited to the Starfleet social function of the year. That is, assuming these terrorists and the Enterprise Crew's own issues don't get in the way.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to do with the characters featured in Star Trek or the Star Trek movie from 2009. No harm was meant, so put the lawyers away, man.

Chapter Notes: _Taluhk nash-veh k'dular_ is Vulcan for “I cherish thee.” It’s about as flowery as they get and is considered a “declaration that is acceptable between bondmates in Vulcan society.” _K’diwa_ is the shortened version of _k'hat'n'dlawa_ which means “half of each other’s heart and soul.” It apparently is a bit archaic due to the emotional connotations the words have. It’s essentially “beloved” in Vulcan. These were taken from [The Vulcan Language Dictionary](http://www.starbase-10.de/vld/).

The song that Bones walks down the aisle to is [Concerto No. 1 in E major, Op. 8, RV 269, "La primavera" (Spring)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tTsyN9tsnQ), third movement, allegro, by Vivaldi. The song they leave to is a surprise, as is the song they dance to.

Special thanks for this chapter goes out to [](http://inugrlrayn.livejournal.com/profile)[**inugrlrayn**](http://inugrlrayn.livejournal.com/) for her help with the vows. Thanks, lady!

I have that word count now: 62,471. I just...I don't even know.

I swear the epilogue is able to be posted in one part by itself. The link to part two is located at the bottom of the first half.

“Wait...you guys were the ones who sucked the air out,” Jim said said in an accusing tone to his friends as they sat inside Pike’s office. Bones sighed and placed a hand on his thigh to calm him.

“I knew you’d react this way,” he grumbled good-naturedly.

Chris gave Jim an apologetic smile. “It was just going to last a few minutes. You guys were supposed to call for help, causing another distraction. We would have warned you, but they took our only line of communication.”

“Instead Spock turned all Incredible Hulk on the door and we started running,” Jim finished. “Which I am never getting on your nerves again, by the way. Jesus.”

Janice looked at Christopher for a moment, before turning back to the _Enterprise_ crew. “Recon team is going in as we speak to assess the damage; hopefully we got de Maupassant at least. His organization is undoubtedly crippled by tonight’s events.”

“You all did great work,” Pike continued. “Especially considering almost none of you had any experience with this type of retrieval mission. I’d give you all commendations, but unfortunately as this was off the books I can only offer a good job.” Everyone smiled at him, except for Spock and Sulu.

“It’s fine,” Nyota said as she placed a hand on Spock’s shoulder. “What matters is we got what we came for.” He looked at her; he had been feeling better since he destroyed the door, but his temperature was beginning to rise again and he felt himself perspiring.

Scotty nodded his agreement. “I think we’re happy it went well, though I could go for some sleep.”

“Good thing is afternoon wedding,” Chekov agreed. “Otherwise may sleep through it.”

Janice couldn’t help but yawn at that. “You’re not lying.” Christopher chuckled a little.

“Let’s wrap this up then, since we have a busy day ahead. Sistene, I’ll expect your report on my desk before the ceremony.”

Sighing a little, Chapel nodded twice. “Yes, sir.”

With that everyone began to make their way out of his office, Pike and Rand included. The only person who hung back was Sulu as he appeared to be lost in thought. Chekov was about to cut the lights and shut the door behind him when he noticed the helmsman still sitting on the couch.

“Hi...Sulu?”

Hikaru started for a moment before looking up at him. “What?”

“It is time to go. We have wedding to get ready for.”

“Oh right,” he stood somewhat shakily. “Guess we should leave, then.”

Pavel looked at him for a moment. “I know I am not your favorite person, but is something the matter?”

On the one hand, he was right; Pavel absolutely was not his favorite person. On the other hand, he kind of needed to get this off his chest, and he wasn’t honestly sure where things were with Chris. “It didn’t occur to me until Kirk’s freak out just how dangerous taking the air out of their room was. We would have killed them.”

Pavel shrugged. “Knew nothing like that would happen.”

“Scotty did the engineering right, but suppose no one came to help them?”

“It would have still worked.”

“How? How can you possibly know that?” Sulu glared down at him. “Don’t tell me you did the math, the math doesn’t account for human errors.”

He shrugged. “Did do math, but that is not why I knew.” He hesitated for a moment before making eye contact with the pilot. “Knew it would work because it was _your_ plan, Hikaru.”

The glaring gave way to a look of shock. “I...what?”

Pavel shrugged a second time. “Know you have no faith in me, but does not mean that I have no faith in you.” He nodded at him once and began to leave the office. “We must go.”

Hikaru began to follow him out into the hallway, where they quickly caught up to their friends. The whole way back, all he could think about was Pavel’s words.

It humbled him that after everything between them Pavel could still feel that way about him. While he knew that Pavel missed being his friend, it never occurred to him in all of his anger that he could miss Pavel.

He thought also about his problems with Christine. Sometimes, people did things not because they wanted to, but because they felt they had no choice. While that didn’t necessarily make it right, it did make it understandable. He thought of himself as being an understanding person, but maybe that was an area where he needed work. His mother was fond of calling people works-in-progress, and he was beginning to see why.

Christine was genuinely sorry for lying to him and hated doing it. Pavel had grown up.

Now the only question was...just how understanding could Hikaru really be?

\-----

The group of eight, both rescuers and rescued, silently trudged through the hotel lobby. They attracted quite a few stares, although none of them were heeded. Wordlessly, they went into the elevator, pushing the necessary buttons for their respective floors.

At the tenth, Sulu, Christine, and Scotty got off without so much as glancing back to their friends. On the fourteenth, Spock and Uhura left, Chekov following quickly behind once he remembered what floor he was on. Before too long, the elevator stopped on the sixteenth floor and Jim and Bones made their way to their separate rooms.

The two men turned left and made their way down the hall, and Jim got his keycard out of his pocket. He stopped in front of his door and waved it in front of the reader. The door slid open and he took a step inside when suddenly Bones grabbed his wrist. He looked back at him with a curious expression.

“I know you wanted to do the thing where we spend the night apart from each other,” he said. “But...I...”

Jim softened. He looked pointedly into the darkness, then back at Bones. He quickly repeated the motions. Bones sighed in relief, letting go of his hand to walk ahead of him into the room. He followed and shut the door, making sure to lock it.

Bones had already taken off his boots and was in the process of unzipping the jumpsuit. Jim watched him for a minute.

“You get to keep that, right?”

The doctor froze and favored Jim with a perplexed expression.

“What? You made me keep the matador outfit. I can't make you keep this?”

Bones' face formed a knowing smile. “Yeah, I can keep it.”

Jim grinned back at him. “Awesome.” He quickly pulled his shirt over his head and folded it before placing it on a chair. He then took off his jeans and disposed of them in a similar manner. He took off his socks and ran a hand through his hair; sleeping in just his underwear was fine this once. Bones threw the black ops suit across the room and, clad only in his boxers, moved to his usual side of the bed. He pulled the covers down and climbed in, with Jim quickly following suit.

Bones rolled onto his side and looked at him for a long while. Without a word, he slid himself into his arms and buried his face in his neck. Jim blinked in surprise before quickly getting with the program. He wrapped his arms around Bones, pressing a kiss to his hairline. Relaxing at his touch, he quickly drifted off to sleep.

Jim protectively tightened his arms around him. He stared into the darkness of the room as the blackout curtains blocked most of the early morning light. All he could think about was how they almost didn't have this moment: how close they had come to being separated for good.

He also thought again about what had been plaguing him in the cell; that so long as he stayed the captain of the _Enterprise_ , people would continue to target him and those he loved.

Sleep did not come for him.

\-----

Spock closed the hotel room door and locked it tight. He frowned at the slight tremors in his hands.

Perhaps it had been foolish to think tearing the door down was enough to simulate the _kal-if-fee_. His blood was pounding and he was still quite feverish. It felt like it was merely a matter of time before the _plak-tow_ would overtake him. He needed to get to the medication immediately to meditate with a clear mind.

As quickly as he could manage, he made his way to the bedroom. His steps faltered at the sight before him.

Nyota had removed the black jumpsuit and sat on the bed clad only in her black bra and underwear. Her hair was loose about her shoulders and she raised herself up onto her knees.

“You should be resting,” he said after a long moment.

“I'm doing something I should have insisted on in the first place,” she retorted. “Spock, let me help you through this.”

Spock shook his head. “I have already explained that mating during _pon farr_ can be violent.”

“It can also kill you if you don't.”

He shook his head a second time. “I have been handling it, with the medication and...”

“You're shaking and sweating, Spock. You tore apart a door with your bare hands.” Nyota frowned. “Spock, I am your _th'y'la_. More importantly, I am your partner. I am also putting my foot down. We are going to take care of this right now.”

Perhaps it was the fever. Perhaps it was exhaustion. Perhaps he was simply tired of fighting about it, but Spock found he was hard-pressed to form an argument. “If I hurt you, I will never be able to forgive myself.”

“My risk, my choice,” she replied. “You would never hurt me on purpose, Spock. I know you're not yourself.” Her frown became worried. “If I don't do everything I can to ease you through this, _I_ will never forgive _myself_.” She opened her arms to him. “Please.”

She was, as always, eminently logical.

More importantly, he loved her.

Spock moved to kneel on the bed with her as she turned to face him with her arms still outstretched. Wordlessly, he fell into them and rested his head on her shoulder. She stroked his hair for a few minutes before he moved to look her in the eye. He hesitated for a moment, and then he kissed her. As she placed her hands on his face, she kissed him back. They lingered that way for a while before he found he could no longer restrain himself and pressed her back into the mattress.

She gasped a little into the kiss as she shifted below him. He slotted himself in between her thighs and reached a hand up to caress her hair. His other hand rested almost possessively on the outside of her thigh. Spock broke the kiss and looked down at her.

“ _Taluhk nash-veh k'dular,_ " he whispered as her hair slid through his fingers like silk.

She smiled. “ _K'diwa_.”

He kissed her again, more savagely this time. For a moment he thought she would push him away; instead, she moaned into it.

Nothing else mattered after that.

Nothing, that is, except for her.

\-----

Hikaru Sulu ran down the hall, trying to catch the elevator before it left.

“Wait, wait,” he said as he stuck his arm into the door. It quickly bounced back and he stepped inside.

The only other person on the elevator with him was Christine.

Her hair was down for once and her dress was a dark gunmetal-gray color. She looked amazing, if a bit tired. Right, Pike ordered her to give him a report. She wouldn’t have gotten the same amount of sleep as the rest of them.

“Thanks,” he offered with a smile as he stepped into the elevator. She had already pressed the button for the lobby, so he didn’t bother touching the screen. He simply stood next to her, close enough to touch if he wanted to but not enough to invade her personal space.

They rode in awkward silence for a moment.

Hikaru sighed. Well, there was no easy way to do this. Best to just get on with it. “Look, about those awful things I said...”

She snorted a little. “Putting it mildly.”

He paused for a moment; he deserved that, so he elected to let it go. “I understand now that you don’t do that because you like to, you’re doing it because you have your orders and you have no choice. I’m sorry that I didn’t have any faith in you about this or that I assumed the worst. I understand if you want to call things off for real because of how much of an ass I was, but I want you to know that I don’t still feel that way.”

Christine was regarding him coolly, although the set of her shoulders did relax a little. “I can’t promise it won’t happen again. I can’t just suddenly tell you what I’m doing because you don’t want to break up with me.”

“Right, and I get that,” he answered, “but maybe you can just tell me it’s classified if I ask, and maybe I don’t always have to ask to start with.”

She looked at him for a long moment. “You’d really be okay with that?”

Hikaru thought for a moment. “Yes, I really would be. We’re in this together.” It wasn’t a lie; he would be, and they really were.

She finally started to smile. “Okay. Then that’s what I’ll do from now on.” Christine reached out her hand and he took it with a smile of his.

The rest of the elevator ride was comfortable, although his thoughts kept going back to Pavel.

He wasn’t sure he could ever be as close to him as he was, but he knew he needed to at least talk to him and clear the air.

Maybe at the reception.

\-----

The afternoon was clear with a few clouds, about twenty-three degrees Celsius, and the breeze was blowing gently through the trees. The fountain sprayed gently in the light breeze and the smell of the flowers wafted through the air in a pleasant way.

Jim surveyed the garden and his nerves started to hit him bit by bit. He took a long, deep breath and nervously adjusted his tie. Bones was still getting ready after Jim kicked him out, as he insisted they at least not get dressed together. He asked if he could at least put on some pants but he wasn't having it.

He rubbed his right hand with his left.

This was it. There was no turning back now.

Technically that wasn't true, as he could easily make a break for it and hijack a shuttlecraft. He'd be in orbit before the music even started. No harm, no foul.

Except for the part where Bones would probably hunt him down and beat him to death with his bare hands for humiliating and abandoning him, and there was the part where he really wanted to marry Bones in the first place.

Yeah, no.

A hand rested on his shoulder and he looked down into the eyes of his communications officer. Uhura was clad in a silver floor-length dress with wide straps and a low neckline. Her hair was down and a pair of dangling diamond earrings fell from her ears. She smiled up at him. “Nervous?”

“Yes...and no. And, Jesus, so much.” He smiled back at her, and it was crooked. “How about you? Did Spock...is it...I mean...” He blushed a little. “There is absolutely no way whatsoever for me to ask about this delicately.”

“Stop trying before you give yourself a stroke,” Uhura admonished in a gentle voice. “Yes, it was handled. He's fine and will be here in a minute.”

“How about you? Are you all right? Physically, I mean.”

After a moment, she nodded. “It was different, not in a bad way necessarily. Not something I want all the time, but I think I can deal with it once every seven years.”

“We all have to compromise sometimes,” Jim said with a nod. He took that moment to wrap an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him and slid an arm around his waist. “I have to say, this is not how I expected things to go.”

“Oh?” Her right eyebrow raised in curiosity. “And how was that?”

“I don't know. I expected, when we all got our postings I mean, that I'd be some great swashbuckling hero and you and Spock would get hitched and I'd dance at your wedding. You and Spock are getting hitched, but...you're going to be dancing at mine first. This was just never part of the plan.”

“That’s not a bad thing.”

“No,” he said with a soft smile. “No, it’s really not. I’m just realizing how much more there is for me instead of a never-ending cavalcade of getting shot at.”

“Cavalcade is one of my favorite words,” she said fondly.

“Mine too,” he shot back with a grin. He quickly became more serious. “I’m happier than I ever thought possible, and we both know who to thank for that.”

She smiled. When the mission began, Jim really hadn’t changed much from his academy days. Even now he was still brash, borderline ridiculous, and a bit crazy...but, he was also dependable, strong, and one of the best friends she could ever ask for. Brushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes, she looked back up at him.

“You know, you don’t have to call me Uhura all the time.”

A little confused, he gave her a sideways look.

“My name is Nyota,” she finished, and he looked down at her with an astonished expression. The surprise quickly gave way to gratitude and he grinned at her.

“I’ll make sure not to abuse it.”

“Probably wise, as I reserve the right to revoke the privilege at any time I see fit.” Jim raised an eyebrow. “I’m just saying.”

“Fair enough...Nyota,” he said with a squeeze of her shoulders. Together they began to walk towards the viewing pool. A thought occurred to him and he smirked. “You know, it’s not too late. We could totally add you and Spock to the queue. What do you say?”

At first, she said nothing. It didn’t take too long before she grimaced.

“I think Spock and I have had all the monuments a couple can take for today, but I appreciate the offer. We’ll just stick to the plan of waiting until the tour ends.” She elbowed him in the side and he laughed. As they walked closer to the wooden platform on the pond, he took in the decorations.

Large floral arrangements of lilies adorned the aisle, and the rows of chairs were strung together by swaths of silver ribbons. The weather was warm and sunny, with only a few clouds in the sky. The Japanese maples gave the garden an air of privacy

Everything was perfect.

He looked back behind him and he saw Sulu, Chapel, and Scotty walking down the aisle, followed not too far behind by Spock and Chekov. Geoff and Pike were following at a distance. The guests were due to start arriving at any moment.

The butterflies in his stomach began to give way to excitement.

It was almost time.

\-----

Two days ago when she had gotten the message, she admittedly had been unsure of what to think.

After all, Jim never really seemed the type to settle down with anyone, let alone his best friend that she’d met at his graduation. Although if she were being honest, Jim never really had friends before Leonard, either.

While not unwelcome, it was a bit of a surprise. She immediately messaged Sam to see if he and Aurelan were going to make it, and they said they would. So here she also was, about to attend the wedding of her youngest son.

Winona Kirk stood by the walkway leading toward the wedding site, pausing to take in the surroundings. It really was a beautiful locale. Unsure of where to go, she began walking towards the front. She spotted several Starfleet officers she was familiar with and stopped to exchange pleasantries with them as she kept an eye out for Sam or Jim.

There he was.

Jim was ahead near the deck talking with Christopher Pike. He was smiling, but she also saw he was rubbing his hands together nervously. Some things never changed. She began to make her way over when Richard Barnett appeared in her path.

“Winona,” he said with a smile.

“Admiral, so nice to see you.” It was.

“You’re really going to call me Admiral today,” he said with a shake of his head. “Really?”

Winona couldn’t help but laugh. “Richard.”

Richard grinned down at her. “Much better. Bet you never thought this would happen,” he said as he pointed to where Jim and Christopher were talking.

“I was a bit surprised, but he’s happy. That’s all that counts,” she answered truthfully. He nodded his agreement. They two of the them continued to make smalltalk for a while; they went back quite a few years, so it was fun for them to catch up.

Her attention kept diverting back to Jim, who was now talking with another admiral. Sensing he was being watched, he scanned the crowd before him before meeting her gaze. His eyes widened almost comically, and he quickly turned to excuse himself.

“Mom!”

Winona turned to Richard. “Excuse me, I...”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll talk more at the reception,” he said. He lightly touched her on the shoulder before taking off to find his seat. Jim filled his spot almost immediately.

“Mom, I...you weren’t at the dinner last night so I just assumed...I mean...how are you,” he babbled. She felt her smile turn into a full-on grin.

“I’m fine, Jim, and I’m sorry I didn’t make it last night. My shuttle didn’t get in until late and I should have messaged you.”

This made Jim visibly relax and he started to smile a little. “Oh. Well, I’m...I’m really happy you made it today; Bones will be too.”

Come to think of it... “Where is he, I don’t see him anywhere?”

“He’s out of sight, but he’s here. We’re doing it the old-fashioned way, so neither of us will see each other until he walks down the aisle.”

Winona raised an eyebrow. “How on Earth did you get that man to agree to that?”

“Coin toss.”

“Right.” She really ought to have guessed; at their graduation, they roped her into a poker game. Winona had easily taken them both to the cleaners, much to Jim’s amusement and Leonard’s consternation. She looked her youngest son over carefully. He definitely was the spitting image of his father, and he looked incredibly handsome in his tuxedo. Most of all, he looked happy...and relieved. “Jim...did you really think I wasn’t coming?”

There was a brief moment of hesitation before he answered. “You’re busy, and last I knew you were off-planet. I know how it goes.”

She sighed. Honestly, she couldn’t blame him. She’d barely made it to the graduation, not to mention all the other events she’d missed over the years. It kind of broke her heart, but he had every right to feel that way.

“I know I wasn’t always there for you and Sam,” she began, “but I’m _so_ happy I can be here today. I’m in San Francisco for a month before my next assignment, so I would love it if you and Leonard would spend some time with me while you’re on leave.”

Jim brightened considerably. “It’s okay, I...I know it wasn’t on purpose. I’d really like that. I’ve got to check with him though, we’re honeymooning and then spending time with his daughter in Georgia...but, I think I can get us back a day early, if that’s all right?”

Feeling relieved herself, she couldn’t help but grin at him. “That sounds wonderful.”

“Great!” He reached out his arms and she let herself be pulled into a hug. “Now come with me, I’ve got a spot for you next to Sam up front. You’re not sitting in the back!”

“Wait, what about the admiralty?”

“Whatever,” he said as he began to pull her to the front row. She just laughed in response.

\-----

Leonard McCoy stood at the back of the “aisle,” peering from behind one of the maple trees.

Strangely, nerves weren’t really hitting him. However, he was still irritated by Jim kicking him out with only his boxers and room key earlier.

But only a little bit.

Everyone was taking their seats and getting into position. The music was going to start any moment now. He took a deep breath.

“Daddy?”

He looked down at his daughter. “Yeah, baby girl?”

She frowned for a second at his words. “I thought I told you...”

“I know, I know, you’re not a ‘baby girl’ anymore. The problem is, Jo, you’re always going to be my baby girl.” He raised both of his eyebrows at her. “So I don’t know that I can ever stop calling you that, but I can try to not do it so much, if that’s okay.”

Jo scrunched up her face in thought for a moment before nodding. “I guess once in a while is okay,” she said as she smiled again. “It’s almost time, isn’t it?” She raised the basket she was holding up and tapped it once. Bones smiled back at her.

“Yeah, it is. We’ll know when it’s time.”

Lowering the basket, she stepped forward. “I love you, Daddy. I love Uncle Jim, too.” She looked thoughtful. “Although I guess he’s just Jim now, like Uncle Clay became just Clay.”

He nodded. “Sounds good to me, and I know he’ll be happy to hear that.”

With that, the music started, a beautiful melody played by the string quartet up front. Bones peered out from the tree and saw that Jim was standing at his place just to the left in front of Pike. They waited a couple of moments and then he nudged her.

“Go on,” he whispered. She rolled her eyes.

“I know,” she whispered back. With that she began taking steps down the aisle, dropping a handful of petals every meter or so. He waited until she was about halfway there before beginning to walk down the aisle himself.

Everyone turned their heads to stare at him and he couldn’t help but flush a bit in response. Being the center of attention was Jim’s thing, not his, and it made him feel a bit awkward. He looked ahead of him and Jim was standing perfectly straight with a look of undisguised awe on his face. He couldn’t help but smile back; he looked pretty good himself in his matching suit.

Okay, he looked better than pretty good. He was as gorgeous as always, and it made his heart swell.

He was an incredibly lucky man.

Jo had taken her seat next to her mother; he was almost there himself. He took the final few steps and joined Jim in front of Pike. His fiancé reached out his hands and he took them as he stood facing him. The music faded before ceasing all together, and Pike began to speak.

“Friends, we are gathered here today to take part in the most time honored celebration of the human family, uniting these two men in marriage. Jim and Leonard have come to witness before us, telling of their love for each other. We remember theirs is a love whose source is the affection of those who loved them into being.”

Winona found her eyes teared up at his words. Across the aisle from her, Bones’ aunt and uncle did the same.

“You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, fairly recently might I add,” he said with a smile and several people in the audience chuckled, “you decided to marry. From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, indeed you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way. The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, ‘you know all those things we've promised and hoped and dreamed -- well, I meant it all, every word’."

Nyota took Spock’s hand in hers and smiled at him. His cheeks turned slightly green from flushing, but he squeezed her hand in response. Christine looked up at Hikaru, and he put his arm around her shoulders.

“Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another -- acquaintance, friend, companion, and even teacher. Now you shall say a few words that take you across the threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall each say to the world, ‘this is my husband’.”

Scotty found himself touched, not just for his friends, but for himself. He looked over at Pavel, who he realized was looking right at him. The navigator offered a tentative smile and he returned it. Joanna grinned up at her dad and soon-to-be stepfather, and her mother smiled with her.

The admiral nodded to the men standing before him. “In honor of the occasion, Jim and Leonard have elected to write their own vows.” He looked to Jim and gave him a reassuring smile. Jim cleared his throat in response.

“A little more than a year ago, I fell in love with my best friend, and you know, at first it terrified me. I’d never been in love before, and it was kind of a scary feeling,” he said with a shaky grin. “The thing that kept sticking with me though, the thing that got me through, was that I was in love with _you_ , Bones. You were the first person to ever have my back, and I knew then like I know now that we’ll always be an inevitability.”

As he hung on every word that was said, Bones found he was rendered speechless.

Damn him.

“I promise, Bones--- _Leonard_ , that I will face everything that comes our way by your side. I promise that when things get difficult I will always work them out with you with respect. I promise to never stop wanting to wake up by your side. Most of all, I promise to love you with all I’ve got until the day I die. And I promise I’ll always have your back, the way you’ve had mine for so long.”

Taking a long, deep breath, he looked to Pike for a moment. He nodded back in response, and Bones took that as his cue.

“Everyone here knows I was hesitant about getting involved with you when this began.” He took another deep breath before continuing. “You love showboating, you’re reckless, you’re stubborn, and you’d seldom taken anything seriously before.”

Jim raised an eyebrow, but his expression was amused.

“There was also the fact that you’d never do anything to hurt me. That you always look out for me when I’m working too long. You always know exactly what I need when I’m feeling low, or even when things are good.

“That, Jim, is why I said yes to you then and why I’m saying it today. I swear I will always do right by you, and I swear that no matter what obstacles come our way, we’ll face them together. I swear that I’ll always be there when you need me, and even when you don’t. And I swear that I’m gonna love you with all that I am for as long as we’re both breathing.”

Amusement having since faded, Jim’s expression was touched and his eyes looked suspiciously bright. Bones smiled at him briefly before they both turned their attention back to Pike.

“The wedding ring,” he said and Johnny and Sam passed the rings to the grooms, “is a symbol of unity, a circle unbroken, without beginning or end. And today Jim and Leonard give and receive these rings as demonstrations of their vows to make their lives one, to work at all times to create a life that is whole and unbroken, and to love each other without end. Jim, take the ring you have selected, place it upon Leonard’s finger, and say these words, ‘with this ring, I thee wed’.”

His hands trembling a little, Jim held out the ring as Bones lifted his hand. “With this ring, I thee wed.” As he slid it onto his finger, Bones found his vision was growing blurry. He swallowed once, so that he would be able to speak properly when it was his turn.

“Leonard, take the ring you have selected, place it upon Jim’s finger, and say these words, ‘with this ring, I thee wed’.”

“With this ring, I thee wed,” he proclaimed as he slid the ring onto Jim’s finger. They joined hands again and faced Pike, who was now smiling openly.

“Jim and Leonard, as a collection of words, this ceremony would count for little, were it not for the love and commitment you have pledged to one another. Your vows may have been spoken in minutes, but your promises to each other will last a lifetime. Having witnessed your vows for marriage with all who are assembled here and by the authority vested in me, I announce with great joy that you are husbands to one another.”

His face flushed, Jim was grinning, and Bones found he was doing the same.

Pike smirked a little bit as he jerked his head quickly to one side. “Come on, let’s go. Give the people what they want.”

The captain burst out laughing just as Bones grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him soundly on the lips. He quickly stopped laughing to kiss him back. A round of thunderous applause erupted from the crowd. They stayed joined until breathing became a necessity, and they finally broke apart and smiled at the crowd.

Still with a grin on his face, Pike shook his head once. “It gives me great pleasure to present to you, for the first time as husband and husband, Captain and Doctor Kirk-McCoy!”

The music began anew, and with their hands joined the newly married couple began to make their way down the aisle with the matching smiles still on their faces.

They were about two-thirds of the way to the end when Bones noticed it.

“Is that...are they playing ‘Back that Ass Up’?”

The smirk on Jim’s face was the only answer he needed.

“You are unbelievable.”

“You should just be happy I didn’t pull a bait-and-switch to have you do your processional to it,” Jim retorted.

“I can’t fucking believe I just married you.”

“Believe it, McMuffin. You’re stuck with me.”

“Oh no, I’m not. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but they have these newfangled things called annulments...”

Jim snorted. “Oh, like that’s going to happen. You love me way too much for that.”

“I’m not sure I honestly do at this particular moment.”

“More to the point, you knew what you were getting into.” They had reached the end of the aisle and Jim tugged him towards him. Bones stumbled a bit and Jim held him close. “You love it,” he whispered as he kissed him. He squawked a little in protest but quickly found he was kissing him back.

“Fuck you,” he said with a laugh as it ended. Jim threw his head back and outright cracked up.

“Come on, Bones, it’s time for the meet and greet.”

With that, he led him to through the bough to stand and wait for their friends and guests.

[Chapter 5b](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/30624.html) | [Chapter 6b](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/31134.html)


	10. Fic: To the End (La Comédie) 6b/7

_**Fic: To the End (La Comédie) 6b/7**_  
This is part two of chapter six. Part one can be found [here](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/30885.html).

  
“If I could have everyone’s attention please,” the emcee announced after dinner was served.

After all the hellos and thank yous were said, pictures were taken, and everyone regrouped at the hotel’s banquet hall, Bones and Jim finally had a moment to sit and breathe.

Obviously, it was just that: a moment.

“It’s time for the happy couple to have their first dance,” the woman continued. “Come on up you two, the floor is yours.”

Jim and Bones smiled at each other for a moment. They stood and took their place in the middle of the dance floor.

The DJ, however, was baffled. She whispered something to the emcee, who started to snicker. “Hey lovebirds? We need the song.”

The happy couple looked at each other.

“It’s yours,” Bones said at the same time Jim went, “Go ahead.”

There was an awkward moment’s silence.

“No seriously, your vows won,” Jim said quickly. “I mean, mine were good, but yours were just so _you_.”

“No, yours were more emotional than mine, you won hands-down,” Bones replied. “People will be talking about yours for years.”

“No way, they’ll remember yours more, I promise you that.”

As he quickly assessed the situation with a roll of his eyes, Hikaru stood from his table. He made his way to the DJ and smiled at her. “Hi. You’ve got [The Luckiest](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_XwAKrLidw&feature=fvw), right?”

“Of course,” she said with a grin as she reached for the disc with the relevant song.

“Okay, good. Knock yourself out, because otherwise we’ll be here all night.” He turned and took his seat again. Nyota, Geoff, and Christine all flashed him the thumbs up sign as Scotty and Chekov grinned. Spock merely nodded his approval.

A gentle piano melody began to play throughout the hall, and Jim and Bones paused mid-argument to look at their friends. Everyone was gesturing at them to get on with it except Spock.

“Our friends suck.”

“That they do,” Bones agreed. He held out a hand and placed his other on Jim’s waist. “I’m leading.”

The captain sighed as he placed one hand on Bones’ shoulder and the other in his hand. “Yes, Mister Cotillion.”

“That’s _Doctor_ Cotillion.”

“Yeah, yeah.” They began to sway to the music, moving closer to one another as the song progressed. “It’s a good call, the song I mean.”

“It is,” he agreed.

“I am, you know,” Jim continued as a blush formed on his cheeks. “The luckiest.”

“I suppose that makes two of us, then.”

“I suppose it does.” They continued swaying to the music as camera flashes went off around them. Bones smiled and held him closer. Eventually, the song ended, and they parted to the sound of applause.

“Now it’s time for the mother-son, father-daughter dance...”

“We’re not going to get to eat, are we,” Jim whispered through his smile.

“Eventually,” Bones whispered back as he held out his arms to Joanna.

\-----

The happy couple were finally able to sit down and eat, while more people were out on the dance floor enjoying themselves.  
 Admiral Pike stood with a glass of scotch in his left hand. God bless Jim and McCoy for having an open bar, although he suspected it was as much for themselves as it was for the guests. He stood by the bar and watched the crowd.

Janice stood next to Nyota Uhura’s chair as the two of them caught up; Christopher remembered her saying in the short time they knew each other on the _Enterprise_ that they had become close.

Janice was wearing a dark blue gown and her hair was done up in a style even more elaborate than the ones she typically wore. He briefly wondered what it would be like to see her hair down for a change.

The current song ended and a new one started up, one that he was particularly fond of.

Well, she wouldn’t mind; she and Uhura could catch up more later. He walked over to his assistant and placed a hand on the small of her back. Janice jumped a little and looked up into his eyes.

“Lieutenant, do you mind if I borrow my assistant for a moment?”

Nyota gave the two of them a knowing glance. Nothing got by her, did it? No wonder she had snagged Spock. “Not at all. We’ll catch up more later, Jan.”

With a smile, he began to steer her onto the dance floor. When she realized what was happening, she stiffened a little.

“No, sir, I don’t...this isn’t...”

“Oh come on,” he said, “Richard’s dancing with his assistant.”

Pausing to look over his shoulder, she blinked for a moment. Sure enough, Admiral Barnett was dancing with his assistant, Charles. She opened her mouth to say something before closing it again.

There really wasn’t much room to argue.

He took her hand and they began to dance. At first it was awkward; little by little, she began to relax. She didn’t move too close to him, but she stopped looking so nervous.

Christopher looked down at her with a grin, and she smiled back.

If they danced through a few more songs together, well...no one seemed to care.

\-----

Jim looked out at the various partygoers with a fond smile.

It was just about time for he and Bones to take off, otherwise they’d risk missing their shuttle to Maui. He sighed a little. They would be spending five days there before heading back to Savannah to spend six days with Jo. It was a great deal of traveling, but it was worth it.

Bones came up behind him and placed a hand on the small of his back. “What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing, really,” Jim replied as he leaned into him. “Just happy.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He turned to smile at him. “What about you?”

“Me?” Bones pretended to think for a minute. “Don’t think I’ve been happier.”

The expression on his face softened a great deal. “Really?”

“Wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.”

“No, I know, I just,” Jim said. “I don’t know why I asked that actually.”

Bones moved to hold him a little closer and he went willingly. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay.” They stood together in companionable silence, neither of them wanting to move. Finally, Jim sighed. “We should say goodbye to everyone or else we won’t make it.”

“You’re probably right, we’ve got quite a few hands to shake.” Bones pointed to a group of the admiralty. “Let’s start with them and work our way up to our families since they’ll take the longest.”

“A tactically sound plan,” Jim said with a nod. “I approve. C’mon, Bones, let’s go.”

They joined their hands and began to make their rounds.

\-----

Pavel Chekov helped himself to some of the memento candies that were in a dish in the middle of his table. They were cute, shaped like Starfleet emblems with the captain and the doctor’s names on them. He took a bite of one, and his eyes lit up at the flavor.

They were also surprisingly high-quality chocolate.

He watched what all his friends were doing. Kirk and McCoy had taken off a little while ago after making the rounds and bidding farewell to their guests. While sometimes their “epic” love made him roll his eyes, he was genuinely happy for them. He wished them nothing but the best for their honeymoon.

Looking back out to the dance floor, he saw that Janice Rand was dancing with the Admiral. They appeared to be laughing together over something. Pavel liked Janice, so it was nice to see her happy and not just focused on work like she was since they got back to Earth.

Nyota and Spock were dancing as well. For the first time in days, Spock looked like himself. He was also concentrating very hard on the steps, much to his fiancée’s amusement. She was smiling up at him, and she made him pause for a kiss.

Nurse Chapel and Hikaru were by the bar getting drinks. They were talking animatedly to one another, having obviously worked things out. Good. Pavel took a sip of his vodka tonic. It was touch and go for a while, so he was glad that they were okay.

Although he was definitely still afraid of her.

He turned his attention to the subject of most of his thoughts these days. Scotty was talking to one of his old professors.

Pavel sighed.

For a minute on that shuttle, it seemed like things were going back to the way they were. Apart from some significant looks during the ceremony, that was it. Maybe it was time to give up on him and find someone else. He sighed and focused his attention again on Scotty as someone sat next to him.

“You should just tell him,” the person said and Pavel choked on his vodka.

He slowly turned and looked into the eyes of Hikaru Sulu. Pavel wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“I mean, you’ve always been really direct when you’ve wanted someone,” Sulu continued. “I get that you really like him, but it’s not like you to beat around the bush.”

Pavel blinked owlishly.

“That’s not going to work,” Hikaru asked with a frown. “You’ve already tried it?”

“Why are you speaking to me,” Pavel blurted. “Have said ten words in four months.”

Sulu took a sip of his margarita for a moment before answering. “You were kind to me earlier when you could have just told me to quit my whining. In fact, six months ago you would have told me to quit my whining had a fight happened between us.”

Pavel opened his mouth to protest before closing it. It was true, he wasn’t the most mature person on the ship before Hikaru stopped speaking to him.

“So I’m returning the favor.” Hikaru leaned towards him. “I know you two spend a lot of time together. You practically skip every time you head out to see him.”

The Russian winced. “Noticeable?”

“Incredibly.”

He winced again. “I will try to hide it better.”

Sulu shook his head. “That’s the opposite of what I’m telling you. You’re already hiding compare to how you normally act. Just drop the manners and go for it.”

Pavel looked at him for a long time. “I still do not understand why you are speaking with me.”

Hikaru set his drink down. “I don’t like grudges. They’re poisonous, and apparently I’m good at holding onto them. I’m trying to not do that anymore.” He looked down at the tablecloth for a moment before turning his gaze back to Pavel. “I’m not saying we’re going to be best friends again right away, or even ever necessarily, but I don’t have to be hostile to you. At the end of the day, you’re a good person, Pavel. I forgot that for a little while, but you reminded me today and I thank you for it.” He smiled. “So enough of this, go get your engineer!”

“I...” Pavel found he was speechless. “Hikaru...”

The pilot was laughing. “Don’t thank me, just go!”

Chugging the rest of his drink to give him a bit of liquid courage, Pavel stood and began to make his way over to Scotty. The professor he was speaking with made his way over to greet someone else, and Scotty was alone as he took a sip of his whiskey.

Pavel took a deep breath. Normally, this was easy, but given how erratic Scotty had been over the past few days there was no way to tell how this would go.

Oh well, it was worth a try.

Turning up the charm with a winning smile, Pavel came over and put his hand on Scotty’s shoulder. He started a little at his touch and turned to face him.

“Been looking for you,” Pavel said, still smiling that smile. Scotty turned red and adjusted his tie.

“You found me,” he said somewhat nervously. “Look, Pavel I...I owe you...”

“1423,” he said, cutting him off. “That is my room number.”

Scotty blinked at him for a moment. “I don’t follow.”

“You should meet me there in ten minutes,” he continued. He reached up and gently touched his chin. “Don’t make me wait.”

With that he turned and sashayed out of the reception hall, leaving a bewildered and blushing Scotty in his wake.

The same Scotty who took a moment to contemplate what the hell just happened. On the one hand, while he knew Pavel and he felt the same way for each other he was still unsure whether the two of them getting together was a good idea.

Then again...apparently, no apologies were necessary. More to the point, Pavel wanted him, and he wanted Pavel.

What was there really to fret over?

“Aye, old man,” he said with a shake of his head. “Get over yourself.”

With a grin forming on his face, he made his way out of the hall, through the lobby, and up the elevator. He was at room 1423 in minutes, but he hesitated slightly before knocking on the door.

It slowly opened and there was Pavel in just his dress shirt and slacks.

“Hi,” Scotty began. “I just...I’m...”

Without another word, Pavel grabbed him by the lapels and pulled him inside. He slammed the door closed behind them.

There really wasn’t much to say after that.

[Chapter 6a](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/30885.html) | Epilogue


	11. To the End (La Comédie)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are cordially invited to the Starfleet social function of the year. That is, assuming these terrorists and the Enterprise Crew's own issues don't get in the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There, um...aren't any. I know, right? Wait no...there's a _Wrath of Khan_ reference. It's pretty obvious when you see it.

_**Fic: To the End (La Comédie) 7/7**_  
Title: To the End (La Comédie)  
Series: Star Trek XI (as if I write for anything else these days): [water park 'verse](http://ken-ichijouji.livejournal.com/21874.html)  
Rating: PG-13/R for some violence, swearing, and fade-to-black sexy stuff  
Summary: You are cordially invited to the Starfleet social function of the year. That is, assuming these terrorists and the Enterprise Crew's own issues don't get in the way.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to do with the characters featured in Star Trek or the Star Trek movie from 2009. No harm was meant, so put the lawyers away, man.

Chapter Notes: There, um...aren't any. I know, right? Wait no...there's a _Wrath of Khan_ reference. It's pretty obvious when you see it.

Well I'll say this again because I can...62,471 words. I just...I wrote this in two weeks. (Boy I sure hope it doesn't show!) I'm inordinately proud of this story, and I thank those of you who have read it for doing so. Again I need to thank [](http://faoi-cheilt.livejournal.com/profile)[**faoi_cheilt**](http://faoi-cheilt.livejournal.com/) , [](http://inugrlrayn.livejournal.com/profile)[**inugrlrayn**](http://inugrlrayn.livejournal.com/) , and [](http://cryogenia.livejournal.com/profile)[**cryogenia**](http://cryogenia.livejournal.com/) for all of their support and assistance. I thank everyone for commenting, too, especially during such a busy time of the year. I realize my timing is terrible but I wanted to post it before 2010 was up, so I thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to read this.

I'll still be writing one-shots for this 'verse, but this is the last big story. So thank you, to everyone who's been with me from the beginning. It's really wonderful to see the same usernames every time. :D I'm by far not going to quit writing these two, so I hope you'll stick with me!

  
The hotel room was lit only by the sunrise, and the windows and balcony doors were open as they let in a gentle, balmy breeze.

Bones stretched a bit; he was careful not to jostle or wake Jim, who was in his usual position wrapped up in the sheets with his head on his shoulder. He snuffled a little before burrowing in closer.

Sighing quietly, Bones gently moved out from underneath him. He got up and went over to his bag. He and Jim had yet to unpack, as they were too _occupied_ when they arrived at their destination the night before. He smiled as he looked down at the floor; sure enough, their tuxedos were still scattered all over the place.

Privately, he was amazed Jim let him get to the bed before pouncing.

After pulling on a thin pair of sleep pants, Bones ran a hand through his hair and walked over to the balcony. He admired the view for a good few minutes.

While he generally was not a huge fan of the beach, he had to admit the view was stunning. The sound of the waves came lolling in and the sunrise was orange, red, and gold above the water. He could smell salt and something sweet, like fruit, on the air.

The light glinted off his finger, and he looked down at his wedding band.

The first time he was married, he never quite got used to wearing the ring. Maybe it didn’t fit properly, or maybe he should have taken it as a sign. This one already felt like it was a part of him. He had even forgotten about it until the light hit it, and it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since the ceremony.

Bones smiled; any possible lingering doubts he had were washed away. He was married, and he was happy.

Those two things were all that mattered.

A pair of hands slid over and around his waist from behind. He closed his eyes and leaned back into his husband without a word.

“Why’d you get up,” Jim asked with a bit of sleep in his voice.

“Jet lag, mostly,” he answered. “I’m two hours ahead.”

Jim nuzzled the soft spot right behind his ear. “So am I, but I was sleeping in.”

“Didn’t we just have this conversation a few days ago?” He turned to face him without breaking his hold.

“We did, but I think you didn’t take me seriously when I said we weren’t getting out of bed for twenty-four hours.” Letting go of him just so he could grab his hands, Jim began to pull him back to the bed. “That means for meals, too, you know.”

Bones chuckled as he let himself be pulled along. “I’m assuming we’re going to survive on room service just like every other trip we’ve taken.”

“No, we’ll go out,” Jim said as he pulled him down into bed with him. “Just...not until tomorrow. Or the day after.” He quickly took advantage and pressed a kiss to Bones’ collarbone.

It was at this precise moment that Jim's stomach growled.

Jim sighed and Bones began to laugh. “Thanks for ruining the moment,” he said down to his abdomen. He let go of Bones long enough to fish something out of the nightstand drawer. “Speaking of room service...” Bones checked the chronometer; they probably had just opened. “I’m thinking eggs, but do I want florentine or benedict?” He thought for a moment, squinting at the PADD. “Probably florentine. You, however, should get the pancakes with extra syrup and bacon instead of sausage.”

He looked at him incredulously. “Or you could get the pancakes, since that’s obviously something that you want.”

“I don’t want to eat all of them, just a couple of bites. Besides, you love pancakes.”

“How do you know I’m in the mood for them?”

Jim shrugged. “You’re always in the mood for them.” He kept squinting at the PADD. “Hm, eggs florentine isn’t on here.”

“Yes, it is, it’s right here,” Bones said with a point of his finger. Jim blushed a little.

“Oh, I must have just overlooked it.” After staring at him for second, Bones got up out of the bed. “Hey wait, what did I just say? Get your ass back here.”

“Just a moment, dear,” he tossed over his shoulder as he grabbed a small wrapped box out of his bag. He walked back over and handed it to Jim. “Happy...marriage, or something.”

With a furrowed brow, Jim slowly unwrapped the present. It was a long case that, when he opened it, revealed a pair of black glasses. He looked up at Bones with a blank expression.

“Normally I’d have Geoff give you Retivax,” he began, “but you’re allergic to it.”

Jim glared up at him. “I don’t need glasses.”

“Jim, every time I’ve seen you look at a PADD lately you’ve been squinting. It was especially noticeable when we were signing off on everything for the wedding.” He gestured at the glasses. “They’re only for reading, so no one ever has to see you with them except for me.”

He pulled the glasses out of their case and opened them up. They had thick black plastic frames and clear lenses. He put them on, pushing them further up his nose with a finger. He then looked back at Bones. “Well? Go on, tell me how dorky I look.”

Bones gave him a long, considering look. They honestly looked good on him. He looked a little older, but the main thing was how they highlighted those big blue eyes. “You look handsome.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“Right, because I’m suddenly in the habit of lying to people to make them feel better.”

Jim opened his mouth for a moment, then closed it. “I really look good?”

“Of course,” he answered with a kiss. “Remember, they’re just for reading. If you wear them more than that, you’ll end up needing them full time.”

Jim was fidgeting with the glasses a little. “Duly noted. Now can we order breakfast?” He turned his attention back to the PADD. Obviously being able to read it more clearly, he quickly selected their meals and typed a note to the staff before hitting send. A pop up told him how long it would be before their food would arrive. “It says twenty minutes until delivery.”

Bones nodded. “I’m sure we can figure out a way to fill that time.” Jim raised an eyebrow and he rolled his eyes in response. “Twenty minutes isn’t long enough for that, and I know you. If I do anything to keep you from eating you’ll strangle me when I’m not looking.”

The captain snorted. “You’re assuming you’d be lucky enough to be strangled.”

“This is true,” Bones said as he shifted back into a laying position. Jim quickly took advantage and pillowed his head on his chest. “No, I’m not going to risk it. I’d like to have a long marriage this time, thanks.” For some reason, the words _long marriage_ made Jim stiffen. That was odd. “Jim?”

“Yeah?”

His tone of voice was superficially light, and Bones could hear the edge below it. “What’s wrong?”

There was a long pause before Jim shifted so that he was laying on his stomach, enabling him to look Bones right in the eye. After a minute or two of this, he began to talk. “Where do you see yourself in three years when the tour’s over?”

He didn’t even hesitate before replying with, “On leave before going back into space for round two.”

Jim frowned at this for some reason. “That’s what you want?”

“That’s where I’ll be,” Bones clarified. “It’s hard for you to captain a starship without us being in space.”

“Maybe that isn’t what I want,” he said, causing Bones to blink at him rapidly.

“You want to quit Starfleet? Jim, that’s crazy.”

Jim shook his head a few times. “No, I don’t mean that. Starfleet’s where I belong, but the thing is...I don’t have to be in space to be in Starfleet.”

“You’re not making sense,” he answered.

“I’m not making sense because you can’t disconnect me captaining a starship from me staying in the ‘Fleet. There are plenty of other things I can do and stay in the service. I don’t have to be on the front lines all the time.”

“You’re still not making sense,” Bones said in a gentle voice. “Jim, being captain of the _Enterprise_ is everything to you. You love it more than anything.”

“Not more than I love you, I don’t,” Jim blurted out. “Seriously, Bones, the other night would never have happened if not for the _Nerada_ incident, and I haven’t exactly kept a low profile since then. As long as I keep putting myself out there, things like this are going to happen to me.”

“I know, Jim, and I don’t have a problem with that,” he said. “It’s part of being with you, I’ve told you this.”

“It shouldn’t have to be!” And, okay, Jim was genuinely _angry_ about this. “Why should you have to settle for this? It’s not right, and it’s too much to ask of you. I can still do my job and not put myself at risk. I’m meant for Starfleet, Bones, I’d never say otherwise, but there are other roles I can fill without getting captured every ten seconds or being shot up.”

“Pushing papers would make you miserable,” he said. “You’re not built for a desk job.”

“Maybe not a strict desk job like Barnett’s, but I could do something like what Pike does and be happy,” Jim pointed out. “That’s interesting and complex enough to keep me going without putting me in harm’s way. I’m sure they’ll be getting more agents within the next few years, which means they’ll need at least one other handler.”

Bones looked at him. “You’re really serious about this.”

“You could teach at the medical college, you were always so unhappy with how your classes were handled. Why not fix the curriculum from the inside out? We could get a house in San Francisco, have a yard and maybe get a dog even. I’ve always wanted a dog, but Frank wouldn’t let us have one. Jo could come visit on weekends or school breaks. We could have things like a place where we get our coffee in the mornings, or a restaurant we always go to.” The expression on his face was incredibly earnest. “We could have a _life_ together, Bones, more than we ever would up in space.”

Bones thought carefully for several minutes. Jim never said anything like this before and this whole conversation worried him a bit. Although he had to admit, it did sound appealing.“I’m not sure this is a good thing to decide right now.”

“You think I’m going to change my mind?”

“I think that three years is a long time, and we don’t have to tell Starfleet any plans until the current tour is just about up. So while I’m not assuming that you’ll change your mind it’s something we can’t rule out happening either.”

Jim’s lips quirked up in a rueful smile. “No, I guess we can’t. Although since when do I change my mind about anything?”

“That’s a fair point, but Jim...we just got married yesterday. We have time to think about this.”

He nodded a few times. “Yeah, we do. I realize that, but I’ve never been the type to put things off.” Jim paused to push his glasses back up his nose. “So what do you say?”

“I say...” Bones hesitated for a moment. “I say if that’s what you want, then that’s what we’ll do. However, if you should change your mind for any reason in the next three years then we’ll change our plans. Is that fair?”

“Perfectly,” Jim said and he leaned forward; Bones met him halfway and they sealed the arrangement with a kiss. Just in time, as their breakfast trays were beamed onto the foot of the bed. Bones quirked an eyebrow at him. “I may have given them extra instructions on where to send the food.”

“I’m shocked and amazed,” Bones answered as Jim passed him his tray. “You realize we’ll have to go to the bathroom at some point?”

As he stole a piece of bacon, Jim shrugged. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

He couldn’t help but snort at that as he dug into his pancakes. He also kept slapping Jim’s hand away from his bacon. Jim pouted, and his eyes widened almost comically behind his glasses. Bones finally relented and gave him another piece.

“I swear to God you should register those things as deadly weapons,” he said in a sour tone as Jim munched with a happy expression.

“They only work on you, and besides it’s your own fault. You got me the glasses.”

Bones looked at him sideways. “When we’re done eating, you’re going to keep those on, right?”

“You want me to?” Jim scooped up some of the hollandaise sauce with his index finger before he pointedly sucked it off. Bones swallowed hard.

“Apparently I was too subtle; yes, you should keep them on.”

Jim, who had already finished his food, placed his tray on the floor by the bed. “Well, hurry up and finish so that we can, you know, _hurry up and finish_.”

Bones rolled his eyes, but he did eat faster. When he was done, Jim pulled him close.

True to his word, they didn’t get out of bed until the following day, a fact Bones did not mind one bit.


End file.
